Turkey and U.S. Enter Most Important Crisis in Recent Memory

Posted: October 10th, 2017

By Soner Cagaptay

Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute. He has written extensively on U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish domestic politics, and Turkish nationalism.

On Sunday, the U.S. embassy announced the suspension of Turkish visa applications for the U.S., stating that “recent events…have forced the United States government to reassess the commitment of the government of Turkey to the security of U.S. mission facilities and personnel.” In retaliation, the Turkish government suspended its own visa services to U.S. citizens early Monday morning. As the diplomatic crisis continues, The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge spoke to Director of the Turkish Research Project at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Soner Cagaptay, about the negative shift in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s perception of his country’s relationship with the United States.

TCB: How significant is this imposition of mutual visa restrictions between the U.S. and Turkey?

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