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Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he is not talking with US President Barack Obama over the phone anymore amid growing anxiety between Washington and Ankara over the conflict in Gaza and the conflict in Syria.
Turkey is a fierce opponent of Bashar Assad and is an open supporter of rebel fighters in Syria. It felt betrayed when the US had backed away from taking military action against Syria in September.
“In the past, I was calling him (Obama) directly. Because I can’t get the expected results on Syria, our foreign ministers are now talking to each other”, Erdogan said in an interview on the pro-government channel ATV late on Monday.
“I have talked to (U.S. Vice President Joe) Biden. He calls me and I call him.I expect justice in this process. I couldn’t imagine something like this from those who are championing justice”, he said without elaborating, in what seemed like a jibe at Washington.
The last telephone conversation between the two had taken place on February 20th. After the phone call, the White House released a statement in which they accused Erdogan of misrepresenting what he and Obama had spoken about on the phone.
Erdogan, an ardent advocate of the Palestine cause, has recently butted heads with Washington over the Israeli invasion in Gaza that has killed over 580 Palestinians in the past two weeks. He accused Israel of carrying out “state terrorism” and “genocide” of Palestinians and called out the US for defending Israel’s “disproportionate” tactics. The US State Department has branded Erdogan’s comments on Israel “offensive and wrong” but Erdogan hit back saying that the US needs to engage in “self-criticism”.
Erdogan will stand in August 10 Presidential elections and is expected to win easily. Analysts are expecting a more assertive foreign policy from the Turkish government if he becomes the head of state.