Whither Turkish-American relations

Turkey-U.S. relations have passed through many phases since the end of the Second World War, with many ups and downs. Every period has its own label and legal framework attached to it. 

One tag that caught the imaginations of decision-makers and pundits alike was the "strategic partnership" of the late 1990s, which somewhat reflected mutual expectations in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Yet the last document to really define Turkish-American relations was the 1980 Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement, signed at the height of the Cold War.

Although the Obama administration renamed the relationship a "model partnership," years after after a "Strategic Vision Paper" was signed in April 2006, the two countries have so far failed to update the legal parameters of their alignment to the post-Cold War realities. Passing through a rocky period in their relationship in recent years, the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to Turkey on March 30 was expected with an anticipation that he might provide clues regarding the future of bilateral relations, as well as U.S. policy on several regional issues on which the two countries do not see eye to eye.

The visit was a disappointment in this regard, not only because Tillerson kept his silence, (as by now has become his trademark in the job), but also because it seemed that the two countries have postponed important decisions until after the forthcoming referendum in Turkey. Yet both countries, by taking positions on mutually important issues without coordinating with the other side, are gradually developing their own separate and diverging policies.

There are currently two main issues straining the relationship. It seems that the decision on the gridlock over the...