Turkey plans to freeze the Defense and Economic Cooperation Agreement that has enabled collaboration with the US in regional conflicts such as Syria and Iraq since it was signed in 1980, according to an official familiar with Turkish deliberations at the highest level of Erdogan’s administration, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.
The pact, a centerpiece of the defense cooperation, provides both Turkey and the US with security assistance, enabling intelligence sharing, joint drills and increased US military access to Turkish airbases.
Erdogan said Biden’s categorization of the killings of Armenians as “genocide” has further deteriorated ties after a crisis over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian air-defense system.