ANKARA, February 20. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Turkey exacerbated the relations between Ankara and Washington that have been experiencing difficulties in the recent years, says Aydin Sezer, political researcher, economist and former Trade Representative of Turkey in Russia.

"Blinken has already been in Europe at the Munich Security Conference. He met with many heads of state and foreign ministers. He came to Turkey because of the earthquake that occurred here. I believe, the main goal of his visit was to express condolences over the earthquake," the expert told TASS. "However, his visit went beyond the earthquake and turned into a comprehensive meeting where all issues between the two countries were discussed, even the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO. Judging by the statements made and by the press conference, it is clear that the visit not only failed to help resolving the issues between Turkey and the US, but actually exacerbated them. Specific examples range from the US’ position on the F-16s to the US’ statement of support for the Kurds in Syria."

According to Sezer, Blinken went to the neighboring Greece after visiting Turkey in order to "balance the visit politically."

Commenting on US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine, the expert opined that it was done in order to "provide moral support" to Kiev.

On Monday, Blinken had talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. The two top diplomats discussed elimination of the aftermath of the earthquake in the republic, as well as Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO membership applications, the conflict in Ukraine and a number of other bilateral issues. After that, Blinken was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.