Turkiye, US strengthen bilateral relations through joint military exercises

The USS Gerald R. Ford’s voyage to Antalya showcased the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation. (@Warship_78)
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Updated 29 August 2023
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Turkiye, US strengthen bilateral relations through joint military exercises

  • The USS Gerald R. Ford’s voyage to Antalya showcased the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation
  • As the largest and newest aircraft carrier in the US Navy’s fleet, the vessel’s visit carries symbolic weight

ANKARA: In a significant move aimed at bolstering their diplomatic ties, Turkiye and the US recently conducted extensive joint military exercises, marked by the momentous visit of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy’s cutting-edge aircraft carrier, to the Turkish port city of Antalya.

The joint military exercises, the most extensive in at least seven years, carry notable implications against the backdrop of an impending meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, next month.

The USS Gerald R. Ford’s voyage to Antalya, following its stops in Oslo, Norway; Split, Croatia; and Piraeus, Greece, showcased the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation.

As the largest and newest aircraft carrier in the US Navy’s fleet, the vessel’s visit carries symbolic weight. Turkish naval ships including TCG Anadolu, Goksu, Gediz, Imbat, Meltem, Burakreis, as well as Turkish air force assets like F-16s, KC-135s, and P-72s, engaged in pre-arrival collaborative exercises with the Gerald R. Ford Strike Group, underscoring mutual commitment to Mediterranean security and bolstering partner interoperability.

“The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group operated with our partners in the Turkish navy and air force, executing a series of multi-domain exercises prior to our arrival in Antalya,” said Rear Adm. Erik J. Eslich, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 12.

“The exercises strengthened the bond we share with Turkiye and enhanced our common understanding of maritime tactics and procedures advancing interoperability objectives. Additionally, our collective efforts reinforce our shared goals of promoting peace and stability in the region.”

Amidst this display of unity, the USS Mount Whitney, a US 6th Fleet Command Ship, visited Istanbul, while the USS Normandy, a guided-missile cruiser, arrived at Aksaz. These sequential visits to Turkish ports highlight the comprehensive nature of the two nations’ military cooperation.

As the Gerald R. Ford remains anchored off the coast of Antalya, the vessel will extend its hospitality to local officials and military leaders, further underscoring the enduring bonds between Washington and Ankara.

Beyond its immediate symbolism, this collaborative effort stands as a testament to the ongoing pursuit of maritime stability and security, serving as a deterrent and reinforcing collective defense commitments.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of German Marshall Fund of the US, thinks that on the one hand the joint exercise is normal as the two countries are NATO allies with a long-standing security partnership, but it also points to efforts at normalization of the strained partnership between the two allies.

He told Arab News: “The fact that Selcuk Bayraktar, the chairman of Baykar, the company that manufactures the Bayraktar drones, and son-in-law of President Erdogan, visited USS Gerald R. Ford and posted his photo from the aircraft carrier on social media has strengthened the political aspect of the exercise.”

This closer alignment is poised to project influence both regionally and globally. Turkiye’s recent decision to withdraw opposition to Sweden’s NATO membership was met with appreciation by the US.

The move reflects a diplomatic thaw, exemplified by Biden’s acknowledgment of Erdogan’s “courage” in supporting Sweden’s bid during the NATO summit in Vilnius. This conciliatory gesture has spurred hopes in Ankara of reciprocity, potentially leading to a reversal of US objections to Turkiye’s procurement of F-16 fighter jets.

The US Congress had previously hindered such sales following Turkiye’s acquisition of Russian S-400 missile systems in 2017.

According to Unluhisarcikli, resolution of the S-400 crisis, suspension of the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act in reference to Turkiye, and Ankara’s return to the F-35 program as a buyer if not as a joint manufacturer could be future steps.

“Within this framework, a visit by President Erdogan to Washington would not be surprising,” he said.

In the meantime, a President Vladimir Putin-Erdogan head-to-head meeting now looks likely to be in Sochi in Russia in the near future, the ruling Justice and Development Party spokesperson Omer Celik said on Tuesday.

But, for Unluhisarcikli, Turkiye’s joint exercise with the US by itself is not a signal to Russia.

He said: “Ankara and Washington are treaty allies and there is nothing more natural than the two holding joint exercises. However, the bigger picture tells us that the Russia-Turkiye relationship is no longer a rose garden.”

Russia’s suspension of the Astana Process; Turkiye’s return of the Azov commanders to Ukraine; Russia withdrawing its veto to the condemnation of Turkiye at the UN Security Council regarding recent incidents on the divided island of Cyprus; President Erdogan’s telephone call to Putin during the Wagner mutiny where he fell short of condemning Wagner; and recent reassertions by Erdogan and other officials on Crimea being part of Ukraine point in this direction, according to Unluhisarcikli.

He thinks that the nature of the Turkiye-Russia relationship is competitive cooperation and the two draw closer when both of them feel excluded or targeted by the West, but when one of them has better relations with the West, competition takes over cooperation.

Unluhisarcikli said: “The Turkiye-Russia rapprochement process happened at a time when Turkiye was diplomatically isolated and Erdogan felt vulnerable after the failed coup attempt. But neither is true any longer.

“Turkiye is no longer diplomatically isolated as it normalized relations with Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, reduced tensions with Greece and therefore the EU, and it exchanged positive messages with its allies during the NATO summit in Vilnius.

“And after retaining his office in the recent presidential elections, after which many Western leaders called him immediately to congratulate, Erdogan is far from being vulnerable.”

Therefore, he added, Turkiye does not have the intention to suspend its cooperation with Russia, but a negative reaction to Turkiye’s normalization of its relationship with its treaty allies could lead to that unintended consequence.

Rich Outzen, senior fellow at Atlantic Council and Jamestown Foundation, said it is a positive practical step from both sides to raise the profile of bilateral military, in this case naval, cooperation.

He told Arab News: “Especially given the naval dimension to the Ukraine conflict, this is an effective deterrent message to Russia from both Washington and Ankara.

“It may indicate a broader signal on warming ties more generally, and reflects some of the fruits of Turkish diplomatic efforts to repair ties with the West.”


Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

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Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

GENEVA: More than 100 patients including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, a World Health Organization official said.
“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.
The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then a portion will travel to Romania.

Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

  • In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security

DUBAI: Two French citizens detained in Iran since May 2022 are in good health and being held in good detention conditions, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Tuesday, according to state media.
Last month, France’s foreign ministry said the conditions that three of its nationals were being held in by Iran were unacceptable.
“According to the relevant authorities, these two people have good conditions in the detention center and are in good health, so any claim regarding their conditions being abnormal is rejected,” Jahangir said.
The spokesperson was referring to Cecile Koehler and Jacques Paris, who he said were arrested on charges of espionage and will have their next court hearing on Nov. 24.
Jahangir did not mention the third French national detained in Iran. French media have disclosed only his first name, Olivier.
In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.


Israeli airstrikes kill at least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

Updated 05 November 2024
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Israeli airstrikes kill at least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

  • Airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 30, Palestinian medics and media say
  • Israeli military says it ‘eliminated terrorists’ in latest operations

CAIRO: Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 30 Palestinians since Monday night, Palestinian media and medics said on Tuesday, as the Israeli army tightened its siege on northern areas of the enclave.
An airstrike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since Oct. 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.
The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the toll. Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.
Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.
The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had “eliminated terrorists” in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where “terrorist infrastructure sites” had been eliminated, it said.
Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for people to evacuate were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones.
Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.
More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, the authorities in Gaza say, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.
The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.


Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists

Updated 05 November 2024
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Sudan paramilitaries kill 10 civilians: activists

PORT SUDAN: Ten civilians were killed in the central Sudanese state of Al-Jazira, pro-democracy activists said on Tuesday, in an attack they blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The Madani Resistance Committee, one of hundreds of volunteer groups coordinating aid across the country, said the RSF carried out the killings on Monday night in the village of Barborab, about 85 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of the state capital Wad Madani.


Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

Updated 05 November 2024
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Gaza aid situation not much improved, US says as deadline for Israel looms

  • Washington told Israel on Oct. 13 it had 30 days to take steps to address humanitarian crisis in Gaza
  • Israel on Monday announced cancelling agreement with UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA)

WASHINGTON: Israel has taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but has so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation in the enclave, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday, as a deadline set by the US to improve the situation approaches.
The Biden administration told Israel in an Oct. 13 letter it had 30 days to take specific steps to address the dire humanitarian crisis in the strip, which has been pummeled for more than a year by Israeli ground and air operations that Israel says are aimed at rooting out Hamas militants.
Aid workers and UN officials say humanitarian conditions continue to be dire in Gaza.
“As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around. We have seen an increase in some measurements. We’ve seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met,” Miller said.
Miller said the results so far were “not good enough” but stressed that the 30-day period had not elapsed.
He declined to say what consequences Israel would face if it failed to implement the recommendations.
“What I can tell you that we will do is we will follow the law,” he said.
Washington, Israel’s main supplier of weapons, has frequently pressed Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza since the war with Hamas began with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel.
The Oct. 13 letter, sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, said a failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing the measures on aid access may have implications for US policy and law.
Section 620i of the US Foreign Assistance Act prohibits military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.
Israel on Monday said it was canceling its agreement with the UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), citing accusations that some UNRWA staff had Hamas links.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had scaled back the entry of aid trucks into the Gaza Strip to an average of 30 trucks a day, the lowest in a long time.
An Israeli government spokesman said no limit had been imposed on aid entering Gaza, with 47 aid trucks entering northern Gaza on Sunday alone.
Israeli statistics reviewed by Reuters last week showed that aid shipments allowed into Gaza in October remained at their lowest levels since October 2023.