"Of course, if I have the choice, I would want them to get out of Syria and Iraq. Just like the way they have withdrawn from Afghanistan. Because if we are going to service peace around the world, it's no longer meaningful to remain in those parts of the world", the president said.
"The relationship between Turkey and Russia is not always easy, but the parties eventually find common ground, while in the case with the US nothing works at all. The US is trying to impose unfavourable conditions on Turkey. Their recent policies and strategies, mainly on the issue of the Kurdish self-defence forces or Kurdistan Workers' Party, have had a very negative impact on relations with Ankara. In fact, Turkey did not want the relations to deteriorate, but the US' actions left no choice because accepting Washington's terms would in fact mean an assault on Turkish sovereignty. For example, the acquisition of the S-400 is not a political issue, but a military one. Turkey's need for a defence system is obvious. At the same time, the allies refuse to sell missiles to Turkey; moreover, they don't want us to buy them from other countries. This situation damages our bilateral relations. There are a number of such trust-destroying moments between Turkey and the US", Abdullah Agar said.
"Ankara had aimed to pursue a balancing policy regarding the situation, but the US, for its part, did nothing to support that intention. During Donald Trump's term as president Turkish-American relations were very unstable, however, after Biden's coming to power, an even more challenging and difficult period has started. I do not think that Turkey will abandon its balancing policy with America, but I believe that Ankara will seek to build even closer relations with Russia", he stressed.
"With these words, Erdogan wants to emphasise that the US is a cause of instability in the region. Indeed, the Turkish leader has moved on to harsher rhetoric towards the US. It was the first time I saw him this strict and determined: he had shown more flexibility in the past. The reason for this is the overly ambitious and politicised stance that Biden is demonstrating. Losing Turkey as an ally will cost the US dearly. Turkey is known to be a southeastern wing of NATO, and now the US, is in fact, separating this wing from itself", he concluded.
"We see a widespread deterioration of living conditions in all of the territories where the US invaded. The situation in Afghanistan or in Iraq, not only has not improved since the US invasion, it has become even worse. We see the US in Syria supporting a terrorist organisation. President Erdogan's statement indicates that the US presence does not solve the problem but only makes the situation even more difficult. So, the Turkish leader's call is perfectly logical, especially after it became known that more than $176 million had been allocated in the US defence budget for 2022 to support the YPG (recognised as a terrorist organisation in Turkey) in Syria. It is clear to Erdogan that it would be much better if the US withdrew its forces from the region, instead of continuing to destabilise the situation by supporting terrorist organisations", Sahin stated.