Biden did not invite Turkey to the Democracy Summit

United States President Biden did not invite Hungary and Turkey to the Democracy Summit.

About 120 countries will take part in the Democracy Summit, the second of which is hosted by the United States of America this year. But the Biden administration did not invite two of its NATO allies, Turkey and Hungary, to the summit next week.

The summit, which US President Joe Biden and the White House consider one of the most important foreign policy initiatives, is aimed at “strengthening democracy in the face of authoritarian governments.”

According to news in Foreign Policy, 3 US officials said this showed Washington’s concern about democratic decline in Turkey and Hungary, despite the need to approve Finland and Sweden for NATO membership, as well as support for these two countries against Russia in the war in Ukraine.

The news said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “gathered power into his own hands and destroyed the democratic elements in the country, but he still faces the most difficult elections in his 20 years in power.”

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that under the administration of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has regressed in its democratic processes, moving away from the European Union and NATO, and that Orban maintained close relations with Russia despite the occupation in Ukraine.

The absence of an invitation to the summit is expected to further strain relations between Washington and its two allies and could lead to further disagreements with NATO and the EU.

What will be the relationship between Turkey and the US under the presidency of Biden, who said: “We will replace Erdogan with elections”?
US Vice President Joe Biden in Turkey.
While Biden and 20 senior members of his team will attend the summit in Washington on March 28-30, Costa Rica, South Korea, the Netherlands and Zambia will also attend as partner countries.

Experts hope that the summit will revive relations between administrations in the face of democratic setbacks experienced around the world in recent years.

US officials, on the other hand, insist that the question of whether a country is invited to the summit should not be seen as a democratic litmus test. The official, who asked not to be named, stressed that the United States is committed to working together and developing relations with Turkey and Hungary, two important NATO allies.

Turkey and Hungary, the first of which took place at the end of 2021, were not invited to the Democracy Summit. In response, Hungary banned the European Union from playing a joint role at the summit.