The "honeymoon phase" in Washington's relations with Ankara has long since passed, but the marriage is still strong and the relationship between the two is "developing" despite apparent animosity between Barack Obama and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, foreign policy analyst Ufuk Ulutaş asserted.

The US has long viewed Turkey as one of its key allies in the region and a model for moderate Islamic democracy. But major differences on the Syrian conflict, the Kurdish issue, the anti-Daesh campaign, as well as the state of democracy in Turkey have driven the two apart.

© AP Photo / Susan Walsh U.S President Barack Obama and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Ufuk Ulutaş blamed Obama's "irresponsible" and "narcissist" policies for the cold spell between the US and Turkey. Moreover, he believes that many around the world share Erdogan's view on the 44th US president.

"Let's wait and see what John Kerry will say about Obama once he is out of office," the expert noted in an opinion piece for the Akşam newspaper, saying that Kerry's comments would most likely echo those of Erdogan, an ardent critic of US leadership.

"Read what US media outlets write about Obama, what Obama says about other world leaders and you'll see how hard it is for other leaders, who are busy resolving major challenges, to deal with Obama. Turkey is not the problem, Obama is," he claimed.

Relations between Washington and Ankara further soured last month when Jeffrey Goldberg described Obama's current stance on the Turkish president. "Obama now considers [Erdogan] a failure and an authoritarian, one who refuses to use his enormous army to bring stability to Syria," he recalled.

© REUTERS / JOSHUA ROBERTS Turkish security personnel struggle to take a sign away from protesters in front of the Brookings Institute before the arrival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington.

Erdogan sparked fresh controversy on Friday when his bodyguards clashed with protesters and reporters outside the Washington-based Brookings Institute shortly before the Turkish president arrived.

Furthermore, the White House is reported to have declined to schedule a formal one-on-one meeting between Obama and Erdogan. The two leaders have only briefly met on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.