Obama finally called both Erdogan and Davutoglu to congratulate them on their big islamist AKP victory in the latest elections in Turkey, despite the fact that both men are once again pushing very hard to get their constitution changed to make Erdogan SULTAN of the ‘New Turkey’.
Not only that, but we saw a huge crackdown on opposition media by Erdogan’s government, something that the State Department has criticized many times. Yet Obama still calls to congratulate them?
TODAY’S ZAMAN – US President Barack Obama called Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate them and the people of Turkey for holding a successful general election, eight days after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) regained its parliamentary majority.
It was not clear why it took so long for the president of the US, Turkey’s chief ally, to phone the Turkish leaders. He called then-Prime Minister Erdoğan in 2011 just two days after his election win.
US officials did congratulate the Turkish people for participating in the elections, but no top officials have called their Turkish counterparts concerning the election. Turkish commentators interpreted the delay of the anticipated phone call as revealing Washington’s unease over Turkey’s commitment to democratic values in the recent past. The US State Department routinely criticizes Turkey for failing to keep its actions within democratic principles.
Late on Monday the Turkish Prime Ministry said in a statement that Obama had praised Turkey for holding a successful election and Davutoğlu’s leadership during the electoral campaign. A White House statement on Obama’s phone calls did not include such a statement.
According to the Turkish version of the phone call, Davutoğlu thanked Obama for the congratulations, saying that the outcome of the election and the high turnout was an indication of the Turkish people’s faith in democracy. With an 87 percent turnout on Nov. 1, Turkey has again become one of the world’s leading nations in electoral participation.
Davutoğlu assured Obama that Turkey is a close friend and ally of the US and would continue ongoing cooperation to solve bilateral problems as well as regional issues. The prime minister told Obama that the authorities of both countries would continue their contacts for necessary coordination in this regard.
The statement said Obama and Davutoğlu discussed bilateral relations along with regional developments, particularly the conflict in Syria. Obama also reportedly told Davutoğlu that the US is determined to increase ongoing cooperation to settle regional problems, especially in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The US president told Davutoğlu that he hopes to have a chance to discuss these issues during a G-20 summit in the Turkish resort town of Antalya next week.
In a separate statement on Monday, the White House said the US president called both Erdoğan and Davutoğlu “to congratulate the Turkish people on the November 1 elections and to preview the upcoming G-20 Summit” in Antalya.
Of course Obama congratulates this authoritarian regime. He’s probably even a little jealous of them.
But as we’ve pointed out before, Obama supports what Erdogan is doing in raising the ‘New Turkey’, otherwise known as the Grand Caliphate that will be Turkey’s reincarnation of the Ottoman Empire.
Obama doesn’t call for 8 days just to make it seem like he’s protesting. He’s not, he just wants it reported that way.
Oh to be a fly on the wall at the G20 summit when Obama sits down and talks with Erdogan.