Trump 2020 campaign advisor: Turkey has even traded oil with ISIS
Washington DC – North-Press Agency
Hadeel Oweis
The New York Times has monitored the movements of more than 70 Iranian oil tankers since May the 2nd, revealing the countries that violate the US sanctions and continue to buy Iranian oil, such as China, and some Mediterranean countries such as Turkey.
The New York Times has noted that more than 12 tankers have delivered Iranian oil in large shipments to countries such as China and Turkey since the Trump administration planned its zero Iranian transport exports.
In this context, the President Trump 2020 Campaign Advisor for Middle East Affairs, Matthias Brodsky has told North-Press that Turkey and China’s actions alongside Iran are inseparable from the full picture of the strained U.S. relationship with the two countries in many political, economic and strategic aspects.
Brodsky added that Turkey: “Has traded oil even with the extremist Islamic State group, to stand against our interests in all its actions, and now it’s putting all political weight alongside Russia, while counting on it with Turkey’s full realization of the disastrous U.S. sanctions on its economy.”
Brodsky noted that the deterioration of the Turkish-American relationship had begun during the “Obama era, but his administration was weak in its reactions, while today we see the Pentagon is solid, led by General Mark Esper, who is stepping up against Turkey, while not conceding to its wishes which could harm American interests.”
He said the US administration is serious about preserving its interests and those of its allies in Syria, which increases the Turkish tendency towards anti-Americanism and the chances of deteriorating the relationship as Turkey exposes itself to US sanctions from all sides.
Matthias Brodsky says Erdogan offers populist solutions that are unrealistic and do not benefit Turkey, relying on an economically exhausted Russia and risking U.S. sanctions against Turkey is badly detrimental to Turkey’s long-term interests, while Erdogan sees the populist approach capable of bringing him back to power and bringing his popularity back to life.
The relations between the U.S and Turkey have fallen to low levels after Washington’s announcement that it would exclude Ankara from the F-35 program and consider sanctions against the country for purchasing the Russian-made S-400 air defense missile system.