(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) The war in Ukraine once again highlighted the importance of
Ankara-Washington ties, a former U.S. assistant secretary of State
has said, trend reports citing hurriyet daily news .
Referring to the removal of two amendments introduced by
Democratic senators, Bob Menendez and Chris Van Hollen, tying F-16
sales to Türkiye on some conditions from the Senate version of the
annual U.S. defense spending bill, Mark Kimmitt said in an
exclusive interview with daily Milliyet that the war also had an
effect on this decision.
The amendments sought to impose several restrictions on the sale
of F-16s and modernization kits to Türkiye, including not using the
fighter jets to violate Greek airspace and requiring the Biden
administration to certify that the sale would be in the national
interest.
The bill is expected to pass the Senate and House of
Representatives this month and be sent to U.S. President Joe Biden
to sign into law as the U.S. said on Dec. 7 that security
cooperation with Ankara is of“paramount importance” after the
removal of amendments.
Underlining that the war shows how important all NATO members
are and that Türkiye is a longtime ally of the U.S., Kimmitt said,
“Though relations are as challenging as ever at the moment, we can
still work together and achieve common interests.”
“Maybe the only positive outcome of the war in Ukraine is that
we realize how important relations are to each other,” he said.
“Most people realized that a European army without the U.S.,
U.K., or Türkiye is much weaker,” Kimmitt said, recalling the words
of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and European Commission
Vice-President Josep Borrell in the same vein.
Noting that the cost, not the supply, should be questioned
regarding the energy crisis that broke out with the war in Ukraine,
Kimmitt said:“There will always be enough oil and gas. The real
question is, 'How much will this cost?' I think it's more of a
diplomatic issue than an economic one as exorbitant prices threaten
the world.”
Commenting on the G7 countries and Australia's limiting the
price of Russian oil to $60 per barrel in order to increase the
pressure on Russia, Kimmitt said,“The best way to increase oil
supply in critical times can be found in [Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries] OPEC rather than controlling
Russia's export prices.”
Separately, Kimmitt also described the U.S. support of the PKK's
Syria offshoot YPG, one of the biggest disagreements between
Washington and Ankara, as“a knife-edge issue.”