The US has long viewed Turkey as one of its key allies in the region and a model for moderate Islamic democracy. But major differences on the Syrian conflict, the Kurdish issue, the anti-Daesh campaign, as well as the state of democracy in Turkey have driven the two apart.
"Let's wait and see what John Kerry will say about Obama once he is out of office," the expert noted in an opinion piece for the Akşam newspaper, saying that Kerry's comments would most likely echo those of Erdogan, an ardent critic of US leadership.
"Read what US media outlets write about Obama, what Obama says about other world leaders and you'll see how hard it is for other leaders, who are busy resolving major challenges, to deal with Obama. Turkey is not the problem, Obama is," he claimed.
Relations between Washington and Ankara further soured last month when Jeffrey Goldberg described Obama's current stance on the Turkish president. "Obama now considers [Erdogan] a failure and an authoritarian, one who refuses to use his enormous army to bring stability to Syria," he recalled.
Furthermore, the White House is reported to have declined to schedule a formal one-on-one meeting between Obama and Erdogan. The two leaders have only briefly met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.
