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New page for US, Turkey reads like fantasy

Hope for a reset in Turkish-American ties under the Biden administration will remain unrealistic until Ankara addresses its democratic issues and human rights record.
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on November 11, 2020. - Turkish President promised on November 11, 2020 to adopt painful reforms and threw his full support behind a new economic team installed after his powerful son-in-law resigned. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Already damaged relations between Ankara and Washington have soured further over the Turkish government's handling of widespread protests against Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pick to head one of the country’s top universities.

After reading her recent Washington Post op-ed, I called my colleague and good friend Asli Aydintasbas to tell her how relieved I was to discover that the Erdogan team has a sense of humor. In her Jan. 28 article, Aydintasbas illustrated how Erdogan’s government is preparing for the era of President Joe Biden, as explained by “several of Erdogan’s top aides and former advisers.”

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