ANKARA, August 20. /TASS/. Turkey must seriously analyze its relations with the US in view of the fact that it was not invited to the August 18 meeting between US President Donald Trump, Vladimir Zelensky, and European leaders in Washington, former prime minister and Future Party chairman Ahmet Davutoglu said.
"[US President Donald] Trump apparently sees Turkey as a country he can keep in the shadows, hypocritically paying compliments to [Turkish President Tayyip Recep] Erdogan. It is sad that the Turkish government also seems to be putting up with such treatment. Turkey's exclusion from the [US-Ukraine] summit after the Azerbaijan-Armenia summit held two weeks ago in Washington is unacceptable. And let no one make the absurd argument that it would have been better for us not to participate in the Washington summit, given our relations with Russia," the politician wrote on his X page.
He pointed out that Trump did not inform Erdogan about the results of the Washington summit. This task was performed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, which, according to the former prime minister, indicates a casual attitude toward Ankara.
Davutoglu noted that "Russia will not take Turkey seriously if it has no influence in NATO or in the European balance of power." "As the saying goes, if you're not at the table, you're on the menu. One of Trump's advisors should remind him that Turkey is not just a Middle Eastern country responsible for Syria; it is also one of the most important powers in the Caucasus, Black Sea, and Eurasian regions. If they do not, Turkish officials at the highest level must convey this message to the US. No country, regardless of its global influence, dares to treat Turkey in this way, and no Turkish official can remain silent," the politician noted.
Davutoglu went on that "the last bilateral summit [between Turkey and the US] took place" in Washington on November 13, 2019, pointing out that "US presidents have not deemed it necessary to visit Ankara during the last four terms" of office. The former prime minister believes it is now "extremely important to seriously analyze Turkish-US relations."
He also suggested that Ankara create an alternative platform to discuss the Ukrainian conflict. "The first and most urgent step is to contact the leaders of countries most affected by the war who were not invited to the Washington summit. Invite them to a summit in Turkey and establish a group of like-minded NATO countries. Such a group, consisting of Poland, Norway, Sweden, the Baltic states, and the Black Sea region, would open up a third way and a new negotiating space. Ukraine and Russia would also likely welcome the expansion of the negotiating space," Davutoglu emphasized.
The former prime minister also believes it is necessary to "create an advisory mechanism" with countries in the Black Sea region, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Moldova. He calls for "intensifying and expanding current contacts with Russia and Ukraine."
Summit in Washington
On August 18, following the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, Trump received Vladimir Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. During the meeting, Trump called Putin. They discussed the prospects of a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by trilateral talks, among other things. According to Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov, the leaders of Russia and the US expressed their support for continuing direct consultations between Moscow and Kiev, including raising the level of these consultations.