InternationalWashington briefing: Afghanistan, Iran, and weapons to dominate Erdogan-Obama agenda
Published: Friday December 04, 2009
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Barack Obama, and their spouses last met in Pittsburgh during the G20 summit in Sept. 2009. AP
The U.S. military buildup in Afghanistan, ongoing concerns with Iran's nuclear program, and potential American arms sales to Turkey are expected to dominate President Barack Obama's talking points as he meets Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on December 7, according to Turkish and international media reports.
For his part, Mr. Erdogan is expected to use the meeting and his public appearances - one at Johns Hopkins University and one organized by Turkey's SETA Foundation - to tout his government's foreign policy activism, including diplomatic engagement with Armenia and Iraq, as well as efforts to give more rights to Turkish Kurds.
The United States asked Turkey to commit more troops to Afghanistan, and Ankara may add additional peacekeepers. It currently has 1,750 peacekeepers in place, but Turkish officials have ruled out participating in combat operations.
The United States and Turkey are also believe to hold divergent positions on Iran. Turkey continues to expand economic ties with Iran, and Mr. Erdogan's recent offers to mediate between Washington and Tehran has been left unanswered.
Turkey in turn has yet to decide between U.S., Russian, and Chinese systems for a large-scale missile defense upgrade. According to Hurriyet, Turkey is also looking buy U.S.-made combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Mr. Erdogan's Washington visit has also been preceded by U.S. media criticism of Turkey's policies of distancing itself from the United States and Israel, as well as on its human rights record.
In Congress on December 3, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission co-chaired by Reps. Jim McGovern (D.-Mass.) and Frank R. Wolf (R.-Va.) organized a hearing to highlight perceived democratic shortcomings of the Erdogan government.
Although both commission co-chairs are members of the Armenian Caucus, the hearing was not expected to highlight Armenian concerns.
Ahead of the summit, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) launched a campaign urging supporters to call the White House to remind President Obama of his pre-election pledge to affirm the Armenian Genocide.
