I spent the whole week covering Turkish-Iranian gold-trader Reza Zarrab’s testimony at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The long-awaited trial of Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab over evading U.S. sanctions against Iran, which is set to start next week after the jury selection, looks like a ticking time bomb at the heart of Turkey-U.S. relations.
There has never been a dull moment in relations between Ankara and Washington in the months since U.S. President Donald Trump took office
The resilience of Turkey-U.S. relations has been tested recently.
Three weeks have passed since the U.S. suspended its visa services in Turkey, followed by Ankara’s tit-for-that action.
When the U.S. Embassy in Ankara two weeks ago announced that they suspended non-immigrant visa services in Turkey as a reaction to the arrest of a locally employed staff member, Turks started wondering what could be worse.
The suspension of non-immigrant visa services of the U.S. caught Turks by surprise, even though there were strong indications of Washington’s intent to respond to the arrest of a local employee at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul.
One of top issues at the two Erdoğan-Trump meetings - in May in Washington and in September in New York – was the file on the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fetullah Gülen.
Last week’s meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York led to a strong common message urging the Iraqi Kurdish leadership to turn back from its recent independence referendum.
