(Washington) The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, will travel to Turkey on Sunday, hit like neighboring Syria by a devastating earthquake, to see the ongoing humanitarian effort there, the State Department announced on Wednesday.
Mr. Blinken will first go to the Incirlik air base in the south-east of the country from where part of the humanitarian aid for the areas affected on February 6 by a powerful earthquake that killed nearly 40,000 people, then in Ankara where he will have talks with Turkish authorities on Sunday and Monday, according to a statement.
Mr. Blinken will begin this new European tour on Thursday via Germany, where he will take part on Friday and Saturday in the Munich security conference which will be largely devoted to the war effort in support of Ukraine against Russia, as well as than to the rivalry between the two American and Chinese superpowers.
And he will complete it with a trip Monday evening and Tuesday to Athens in Greece.
The United States last week deployed several search and rescue teams to Turkey, about 200 people, and released a first tranche of $85 million in humanitarian aid.
They also provided Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters to transfer supplies, officials said.
Aid in Syria passes through local partners, the United States refusing any contact with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The US Secretary of State’s trip to Turkey – his first since taking office two years ago – was scheduled before the February 6 earthquake.
The two NATO allied countries have sometimes tumultuous relations, President Joe Biden having no hesitation in treating his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an autocrat several years ago.
US officials had privately expected a meeting between Mr. Blinken and Mr. Erdogan.
But the United States recognizes that their ally has a constructive role, particularly with regard to the war in Ukraine.
Other issues include the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets promised by President Biden to Turkey but facing opposition in Congress due to the human rights situation, as well as the Turkish standoff over Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
In Munich, the American delegation arrives in force since it includes, in addition to Mr. Blinken, Vice-President Kamala Harris, as well as other officials including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
It comes a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, and at a time when Ukraine is preparing for a new offensive from Moscow.
US President Joe Biden is due to visit Poland from February 20 to 22.
Tensions between the United States and China, exacerbated by the overflight of American airspace by a Chinese balloon, are likely to figure prominently in the discussions.
The highest Chinese diplomat, Wang Li, must be present at the Munich conference, suggesting a possible meeting with Mr. Blinken.
The Chinese balloon incident had forced the Secretary of State to postpone a long-awaited trip to Beijing at the beginning of the month, calling into question the desire for rapprochement between the two great powers.
The United States insists, however, that this trip has been postponed and not canceled and calls for the maintenance of “open lines of communication” with Beijing.