The conflict between Hamas and Israel has forced Mr. Blinken to travel to the region twice in a short period of time. The US side must have such a direct diplomatic presence in this region, along with related policy statements, because of its commitment to help Israel ensure security and for the purpose of enhancing its role and influence on the development, the scenario of ending the conflict, and the order, political and security situation in the region afterwards.
The shortest but also most difficult leg of Mr. Blinken’s visit was to Türkiye. Although the US and Türkiye are both military allies in NATO and the relationship between the two countries is not currently deeply discordant, Mr. Blinken was given a very cold reception by the Turkish side. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan refused to receive Mr. Blinken. Mr. Blinken’s exchanges with representatives of the Turkish government were purely diplomatic.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
This is an inevitable consequence of the deep and clear differences in views between the two countries regarding Israel. The relationship between Türkiye and Israel has actually improved significantly in recent times, but has quickly become uneasy since the outbreak of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel, mainly due to Turkey's opposition to Israel's expansion of the conflict to the Gaza Strip. In this regard, Turkey has shifted to the views and attitudes of the vast majority of Arab countries in the region.
In addition, Turkey does not want the US to monopolize influence here. Turkey itself also pursues the ambition of having enough influence to influence Israel, mediate between Israel and Hamas, create an end to the war and have a decisive role in peace, security and stability in this region.
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