Ex-ambassador’s advice: How to navigate complexities of US-Türkiye relations

James Jeffrey, former U.S. ambassador to Ankara and head of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, advised President-elect Donald Trump on Türkiye during a program held at the Turkish think tank SETA.

Jeffrey’s statement about last Trump term

Stating that coordinated teamwork has been critical in addressing issues related to Türkiye during the Trump administration, Jeffrey stated, “In the last term of the Trump administration, we became the go-to team on almost every issue related to Türkiye.”

“For example, we addressed Türkiye’s blockade of NATO’s Baltic defense treaty, which was linked to the PKK/YPG, but could have been any other issue,” Jeffrey added.

Jeffrey also emphasized the importance of creating an expert team in Washington to manage Türkiye-related issues.

“There should be one person at the center of this team, and this person should own the Türkiye file and follow everything the American bureaucracy does on Türkiye. In this way, strategic mistakes can be avoided.”