Turkey seeks 'win-win' relationship with US: Erdoğan

Turkey wants to forge a "win-win" relationship with the United States as mutual interests with Washington outweigh their differences, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 20 while calling for more cooperation with President Joe Biden's new U.S. administration.

The Turkish-American relations were "seriously tested recently,'' but the strategic partnership has "overcome all kinds of difficulties," Erdoğan said in a video message for a program released for the launch of the Turkish-American National Steering Committee (TASC) television channel TASC TV.

The U.S. did not give Turkey the "desired support and solidarity'' in fighting the illegal PKK and linked groups, Erdoğan said, demanding a "clear stance'' from Turkey's allies.

"We expect a clear attitude from all our allies after the cowardly terrorist attack which claimed the lives of our 13 nationals," he stated.

Last week, Turkey accused the U.S. of supporting "terrorists" and summoned its ambassador after Washington declined to immediately back Ankara's statement that the PKK had executed 13 Turkish nationals in Iraq.

Later, Washington sought to defuse the diplomatic row by saying that it accepted Ankara's claim that PKK had killed 13 Turks.

Both Washington and Ankara view the PKK as a terrorist organization, but the U.S. also backs the YPG group in Syria in the conflict against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

This provides another source of tension between the two NATO allies as Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian extension of the PKK.

Erdoğan also repeated the frustration over the continued residency of Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based cleric accused of orchestrating the bloody 2016 coup attempt.

"We believe our common interests with America far...