May 2, 2017

Soon after Turkish air force jets carried out a wave of airstrikes against Kurdish targets in northeastern Syria and northwestern Iraq on April 25, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over the phone. The reported tone of the conversation speaks volumes about the new low in Turkish-American relations ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned May 16 meeting with President Donald Trump.

According to three separate sources familiar with the details of the exchange, it went horribly. Cavusoglu’s shrilly defensive explanation of why Turkey had ignored US calls to back off and bombed the headquarters of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) on Mount Karachok, killing 28 militants and endangering US special operations forces’ lives, didn’t cut any ice. One of the sources told Al-Monitor on condition of strict anonymity, “At one stage in the conversation Tillerson was kind of like saying 'OK, whatever, you go your way, we will go ours.'” Another said, “It wasn’t quite that dramatic,” but concurred that the phone call went badly.

Turkey’s top diplomat has a reputation for being very undiplomatic. Cavusoglu is brusque, aggressive and there is talk that he may soon be replaced. But according to the sources, Tillerson was the undiplomatic one this time. “Tillerson made no attempt to disguise his fury over the attacks. Cavusoglu didn’t get to say much,” one of the sources said. The Turkish military reportedly gave only 52 minutes' warning to coalition forces before carrying out the airstrikes, putting their lives at risk. The United States had troops in Syria within six miles of the strikes.

A coalition official told Al-Monitor on condition that he not be identified by name, “The Turks did not even provide specific coordinates for where they would be bombing. All they gave us was a box.” The lack of information was probably to prevent the coalition from tipping off the YPG so it could clear out in time.

Ibrahin Kalin, the presidential spokesman whose name is making the rounds as a potential replacement for Cavusoglu, is due to arrive in Washington May 8 for meetings with National Security Council and State Department officials to smooth the ground ahead of Erdogan’s trip.