Erdogan Reaches Out to Trump in Letter Accompanying Medical Aid

(Bloomberg) --

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his charm offensive on U.S. President Donald Trump, with a letter praising his coronavirus measures and calling for stronger collaboration between the NATO allies.

The letter accompanied Turkey’s shipment of a military cargo plane carrying medical supplies to the U.S. to boost its fight against the pandemic, in a gesture of solidarity after years of fractious relations. The donation ordered by Erdogan included 500,000 surgical masks, 40,000 protective overalls, disinfectants, goggles and face shields.

“I am following with appreciation your determined struggle to control the pandemic in the U.S., and I am very pleased to observe that, thanks to your measures, America has taken the first steps towards normalization by achieving a downward trend in the number of new cases,” Erdogan said in the letter, according to a statement by the presidency in Ankara.

Erdogan told Trump that Turkey will continue to be a “reliable and strong partner of the U.S.” to meet basic needs during the outbreak and normalization process thereafter. He underlined the importance of collaboration between the two countries on measures to restore order, saying he looks forward “to exchanging ideas and suggestions on this issue at the earliest convenience.”

Erdogan Seeks Dollar Swap Line With Fed as Net Reserves Run Dry

The U.S. and Turkey have been at odds over a series of flashpoints, most recently Turkey’s purchase last year of a Russian missile-defense system that the U.S. says could help Moscow gather critical intelligence on NATO systems. Erdogan’s personal relationship with Trump has remained publicly warm despite the disputes, even as Washington threatened Turkey with sanctions if it deployed the S-400 missile batteries.

Turkey has “slowed down” the planned April activation of the missiles, top defense industry official Ismail Demir told state-run TRT television on Tuesday.

Erdogan said he hopes the U.S. Congress and media also understand the strategic importance of the relationship between the two countries and “act in a way that our common fight against our common problems necessitates.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.