US policies on Turkey outweigh Biden’s thoughts on country: MHP

ANKARA

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s perception of Turkey is largely irrelevant, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said Nov. 11, emphasizing that his party does not focus on who the president of the United States is, but the country’s policies toward Turkey.

“Who the president is is primarily a domestic matter for Americans. What matters to us is the content of the policies that the United States will implement and the level of reflection of this on our country, our region and international relations,” he said at the MHP’s parliamentary group meeting.

Time will show the direction of Biden’s policies on Turkey, he said.

“Our expectations from the United States is not to look down on Turkey. If we are friends, we should act accordingly, and if we are allies, so will our actions be. If we are divided into enemy camps that have not been named or announced, it is our right to know this,” Bahçeli stated.

He criticized Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for congratulating Biden early on, suggesting that the main opposition leader is content with the new U.S. president.

“Before the election results are finalized, before the official announcement is made, and before the presidency finds its new owner, what does the congratulatory message of an opposition party leader mean?” he asked.

Bahçeli claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu was trying to ingratiate himself with the new U.S. administration. “The CHP, under Kılıçdaroğlu’s administration, has given up hope on our nation and has started to swim in dangerous waters,” the MHP leader said.

Separately, Bahçeli welcomed Azerbaijan’s victory against Armenia for it successfully freed the country’s occupied lands in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Armenia has paid for the blood it shed. The historical revenge has been taken. The 30-year period of persecution has ended; the occupation process has come to an end,” he said.