Turkey calls for opening a diplomatic channel to resolve the conflict with the United States

Faced with the prospect of sanctions from both the US and the EU, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has changed his rhetoric in recent days; he said that economic sanctions would be harmful to all parties and that differences between Turkey and its NATO allies could only be resolved through dialogue and cooperation.

This apparent willingness to appease comes at a time when Ankara is concerned about a possible hardening of its stance by the United States, with the forthcoming entry of a new Democratic administration in Washington, D.C., headed by Joe Biden, and the imposition of tougher sanctions by the European Union, which could further damage the Turkish economy.

The same tone is also visible on the other side of the Atlantic. After the violent events that hit the US Congress on January 6, two weeks before Joe Biden's inauguration, the Turkish government is considering turning the page with Washington.

Turkey has asked for a dialogue with the USA in order to start new talks on the controversial purchase by Ankara of a Russian air defence system, urging Washington to put aside the sanctions.

The spokesman of the Turkish Presidency, İbrahim Kalın, said on Sunday to the Turkish TV channel CNN Türk that the contacts of the Turkish officials with the transition team of Biden have been "very positive" so far and that the US officials say they want to "develop good relations with Turkey and open a new page".

Moreover, Ankara has to face the arms dependency it has with the USA, something that has already caused it problems by being expelled from the F-35 consortium, so that Washington has cancelled the sale of the plane as planned. Precisely, this has come about as a result of Turkey's attempt to diversify its military suppliers and take over the services of the Russian S-400 air defence system, which has caused much concern in the United States.

Turkey has defended its acquisition of the S-400s as a necessity because it was unable to acquire air defence systems from any NATO ally under satisfactory conditions.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said it would be "very problematic" if Ankara were to retract its purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems, but expressed the hope that a dispute with the United States on the issue could be resolved through dialogue.