Sinan Ciddi

On Monday the US warned Turkey against hosting Hamas leadership after reports emerged that some Hamas leaders had moved to Turkey from Qatar, with State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller saying Washington will make it clear to Ankara that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Sinan Ciddi and Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, join Thanos Davelis to look at why a new US administration cannot afford to look past Turkish President Erdogan's aggressive rhetoric. 

Sinan Ciddi joins Thanos Davelis to look into the developing story around a reported proposal that could potentially see the US gain control of Turkey's S-400s in return for F-35s, and make the case that Ankara should prove it is ready to embrace NATO before Washington begins to open the door to any arms deals like the F-35s. 

About a week before Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan latest threats to intervene militarily in Israel on behalf of the Palestinians, reports indicate that Israel had foiled a major terrorist attach orchestrated by Hamas operatives in Turkey.

With the US in the midst of an intense diplomatic push to prevent a war between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, Turkey has also waded into the mix.

While it's still unclear what Turkey is looking to achieve should a conflict erupt, it looks like a policy is taking shape, especially after Ankara followed up on Hezbollah's threats to Cyprus with its own "warning."

This week kicked off with Turkish President Erdogan stating that 1000 Hamas members were being treated in Turkey, a comment that Turkish officials tried to walk back, saw The Times report that Hamas may have been planning to establish a base in Turkey, and culminated with the Turkish leader suggesting that Israel would "set its sights" on Turkey if it defeated Hamas in Gaza.

Sinan Ciddi, a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), joins Thanos Davelis to look at why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking steps to restrict exports to Israel now, and break down how this fits into the broader post-election narrative after the oppositions sweeping victory on March 31st.

We've just seen consecutive visits to the US by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, with both officials discussing a series of issues - from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to trade and investments - with the White House, the State Department and Congress.

Erdogan finally approved Sweden's NATO bid a few weeks ago. With the Biden administration green-lighting the F-16 sale in return, Washington now seems to be employing a new approach of positive reinforcement with Ankara.

This new year finds Washington in a bind over how to effectively engage with Turkey, a trend we've documented for at least half a decade. The tug of war over Sweden and F16s, and Ankara's stance on the Arab-Israeli conflict, are the latest examples of this.