U.S.-Turkey Relations: Towards a Slow-Moving Train Crash?

Discussants

• Ian Lesser, Vice President and Executive Director (Brussels), The German Marshall Fund of the United States
• Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Director, Ankara Office, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

Moderator

• Rosa Balfour, Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States

The U.S.-Turkey relationship, suffering from lack of a valid strategic framework, erosion of trust and ownership problem has been in crisis management mode for a long time. The relationship came to the brink of collapse last summer when the U.S. sanctioned Turkey over the then ongoing detention of Andrew Brunson, an Evangelist Pastor who was held in pretrial detention in Turkey over terrorism charges for two years. The relationship may be tested more decisively this summer over Turkey’s ongoing plans to purchase an S-400 air defence system from Russia. Washington has warned Ankara that if this purchase is completed Turkey will be removed from the F-35 program and may become subject to CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act) sanctions. These developments could trigger a turbulance in the Turkish economy as was the case with the Brunson sanctions last summer, further complicating a relationship that has become very vulnerable. Please join us for a discussion on U.S.-Turkey relations.

This roundtable discussion is part of a series of events and analyses organized as part of the GMF-TOBB Fellowship on Turkey, Europe, and Global Issues, launched by GMF in partnership with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

Please note that this event is invitation-only. The discussion will be under Chatham House Rules.

If you have any questions, please contact Jorge Felix at [email protected].