2018年9月4日，中心研究员王晋于中央电视台英语频道（CGTN) 发表评论文章，全文如下：
The diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Washington, which is fundamentally different from anyother crisis in history, continues. The unfavorable relationship ismulti-dimensional and it is not likely to resolve in the near future.
Turkey-USrelations could be traced back to the end of World War II when Ankara felt anincreasing threat from its northern neighbor the Soviet Union. Turkey became amember of NATO and chose to closely stand with the US in the Cold War. However,there were crises between Ankara and Washington during this period.
After the CubanMissile Crisis in 1962, the US decided to withdraw its missiles from Turkey inexchange for Moscow's withdrawal of its missiles from Cuba. Washington'sdecision shocked many in Turkey, causing them to question if the US was areliable partner for Ankara.
In 1964 whenWashington acknowledged Ankara's planned military intervention against Cyprus,then US President Lyndon Johnson sent a letter to then Turkish Prime MinisterIsmet Inonu to caution Turkey against military moves.
PresidentJohnson expressed Washington's desire to expel Turkey from NATO if Ankaradecided to intervene in Cyprus.
The letter sentby President Johnson, or the "Johnson Letter," at the time of theCold War, not only prompted Turkish Prime Minister Inonu to convene his cabinetin an emergency session, but also disappointed many Turkish people and sparkeda large wave of anti-American sentiment in Turkey. After Turkey invaded Cyprusin 1974, a congressional arms embargo against Ankara further threatenedTurkey's relationship with the US.
Although it isnot the first time that history has witnessed strained relations between Ankaraand Washington, the current Turkey-US crisis is still unprecedented and isdifficult to resolve in a short term.
In the 1960s and1970s, the most imminent enemy for Turkey was the Soviet Union. While anti-USsentiment in Turkish society was once weak, today, according to the PewResearch Center, nearly 80 percent of Turkish respondents hold an unfavorableopinion of the US, and anti-US sentiment in Turkey is salient and stronger thanat any time in history.
The currentTurkey-US crisis is a miniature representation of distrust between Ankara andWashington, while the crises in the 1960s and 1970s were just single-caseissues. Ever since the failed military coup attempt against Erdogan and hisJustice and Development Party (AKP) in July 2016, the hostility and distrustbetween Turkey and the US has emerged and escalated.
Ankara believedthat Washington was behind the coup attempt and refuged the leader of the coupattempt, Fethullah Gulen, while Washington insisted its innocence. Ankarabelieves Gulen still operates and manipulates a "state withinTurkey," and maintains that Andrew Brunson, the US pastor currently detainedin Turkey, is an important member of this "state."
In addition,Ankara and Washington continue their divisions over other sensitive regionalissues. In the Israel-Palestine peace process, Erdogan and his governmentperceive themselves as the only "guardian" for Palestinians, whileDonald Trump's move of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem wasinterpreted by Ankara as "a humiliation against all Muslim states."
On the Syriaissue, Turkey and the US contend over the "terrorist nature" ofKurdish groups in Northern Syria. Trump's decision to withdraw from IranNuclear Deal, or the JCPOA, and re-impose sanctions against Tehran facesresistance from Ankara, while Erdogan called Iran a "neighbor and astrategic partner."
The row between Ankaraand Washington will not lead to war between NATO's two biggest armies, but itwill push Turkey further into the non-Western orbit. The current crisisreflects the deep-rooted and multi-dimensional divisions between Ankara andWashington and it is impossible to melt down the distrust in a short term.
