US media try to deflect from Turkish boycott

By S.Ahmet Aytac

ANKARA

Top U.S. dailies have published stories trying to deflect from Turkey announcing on Tuesday a boycott of American electronic products, focusing instead on other aspects of the bilateral row.

Using different angles, the papers -- include the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post -- implied that Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will move closer to Russia, also claiming the bilateral rift between Ankara and Washington could stall progress against the Daesh terror organization.

Announcing the boycott, Erdogan said: “They do not hesitate to use the economy as a weapon against us, as they [also] tried with diplomacy, the military, or efforts to sow social and political instability.”

Daesh and Russia

“American and European intelligence and counterterrorism officials said on Tuesday that the escalating tensions between President Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey could jeopardize information sharing and law enforcement cooperation between the two countries as they fight the Islamic State [Daesh] in Syria,” the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The paper headlined the story: "U.S.-Turkey Tensions Could Stall Progress Against ISIS [Daesh], Officials Say,"

“Intelligence officials conceded that the most recent strain between Turkey and the United States -- over American sanctions to punish Turkey for the detention of Andrew Brunson, an evangelical pastor from North Carolina -- could halt new progress against the Islamic State [Daesh],” said the newspaper.

Separately, in a story headlined “Turkey Shifts Closer to Russia,” the Wall Street Journal highlighted contacts between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

"Turkey, a longtime North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, has been caught between the West and Russia. This week, officials in Ankara were leaning decidedly toward Moscow. In recent weeks, Turkey and Russia have been the targets of U.S. sanctions while their currencies, the lira and the ruble, have dropped against the dollar. Mr. Erdogan’s boycott is part of a wider campaign Turkey has launched to retaliate against the U.S. measures," the paper said.

Washington Post points to ‘escalating’ row

The Washington Post reported that after Erdogan announced the boycott of U.S.-made electronics, the dispute between the two countries was deepening.

" ‘We are going to apply a boycott on America’s electronic products,' Erdogan said Tuesday during a televised speech, adding that there were alternatives, produced by South Korean or Turkish companies. He did not say when the boycott would start or how it would be enforced,” wrote the paper.

“ ‘If they have the iPhone, there is Samsung on the other side,’ he said, referring to the phone by Apple that became closely associated with Erdogan two years ago when he used the device’s FaceTime feature to rally citizens during a coup attempt."

The paper said the feud between Turkey and the U.S. was “escalating.”

Turkey and the U.S. are currently experiencing rocky relations following Washington’s imposition of sanctions on two Turkish Cabinet ministers for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week ramped up his attack on Turkey by doubling tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports.