Is Erdogan's blame for ambassador overture to Trump?
As Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rains blame on US Ambassador John Bass for the crisis between Ankara and Washington, some analysts wonder if Erdogan's tirades are an attempt to offer the "unique" US administration a way out of its visa move.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed a fresh barrage of salvoes against US Ambassador John Bass today, once again seeking to pin the blame for the ongoing crisis with Washington on its outgoing envoy.
In a fiery rehash of his favorite themes — that global and internal foes are seeking to besiege, weaken and dismember Turkey — Erdogan told a group of provincial governors in Ankara today, “Let me be very clear: The person who caused this is the ambassador here. It is unacceptable for the United States to sacrifice a strategic partner to an ambassador who does not know his place. We are not a tribal state.”
Erdogan was referring to Washington’s decision to indefinitely halt all non-immigrant visa services for Turkish citizens at all US consulates in Turkey. The move followed the Oct. 8 arrest on terror charges of US Consulate employee Metin Topuz, who is a Turkish citizen. Administration officials say Turkish officials were warned at the highest level of the grave consequences that would ensue should Topuz be formally arrested following his detention several days prior.
Moreover, when Erdogan first took aim at Bass, saying he was no longer seen as Washington’s legitimate representative in Ankara, the State Department rose to the ambassador’s defense. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters Oct. 10 that the visa suspension was “coordinated with the State Deparment, it was coordinated with the White House and coordinated with the [National Security Council].”
