Almost 60 years later, the legacy of cautious diplomacy still shapes the path
between Ankara and Washington.

By Mehmet Ali Munir

İsmet İnönü1 was elected president by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on November 11, 1938, after the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye did not think to choose him as the prime minister of the republic when he was ready to announce on October 29, 1923. İsmet İnönü was not liked among the members of the Parliament. In 1923, he was only appointed to the Prime Ministry.
İnönü was a calm negotiator and loyal to Mustafa Kemal, so he was commissioned for the armistice negotiations in Mudanya and peace negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland, with the Western states including Britain and France. The Republic of Türkiye and the US, a non-signatory of Lausanne Treaty established diplomatic relations during this time in 1927.
Atatürk was elected as president by the Turkish National Assembly for a second time and İnönü was assigned as the prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs on October 30, 1929. He was also designated as the chairman of the Halk Fırkası (People’s Party), which was renamed the People’s Republican Party (CHP) in 1935.
His visits before this appointment were made for political, socio-cultural, domestic, and foreign security and economic purposes. He went on and attended domestic tours in Türkiye until he left office with the general elections on May 14, 1950; however, his foreign trips as president were limited.

A Visit to Cairo 1943
President İsmet İnönü met with US President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill in Cairo between December 4-7, 1943. Roosevelt and Churchill insisted that Türkiye also enter the war against Germany and demanded that the Allied air forces be based in Türkiye while the Germans were waiting on the Bulgarian border. Promise of few planes did not make a safe bet.
İnönü was reluctant and put forward excuses delaying approval. İnönü suggested that he should consult the Turkish Grand National Assembly as his last trump card. Türkiye remained out of World War II despite the increasing pressure from the Allies. Türkiye’s entrance into World War II on the side of the Allies Relations developed only after World War II after the Second Cairo Conference on February 23,1945, by declaring war to Germany and Japan. Later that year, on June 30, 1945, in San Francisco Türkiye became a charter member of United Nations joining fifty countries.

Arlington Funeral 1963
As part of a goodwill trip, US Vice President Lyndon B Johnson visited Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Iran, and Türkiye from August 26 to 30, 1962, traveling to Ankara, Izmir, and Istanbul. His most crucial agenda was economic and military aid against the expanding influence of the USSR and the socialist movements that were beginning to gain strength.
Johnson managed to appease the Turkish side on this issue without making any definite commitments during his meetings with the leader of the May 27, 1960, military coup, now President Cemal Gürsel, and Prime Minister İsmet İnönü.
Two days after John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, Prime Minister İnönü went to the US to attend the funeral held on November 25 as one of the fifty-two foreign state representatives, together with Foreign Minister Feridun Cemal Erkin. At 79 years old, İnönü’s trip was considered unusual since he was considered old and had never been to the US before and had not left Türkiye since 1945.
While İnönü was in the US, the withdrawal of his coalition partner from the government put İnönü in a problematic situation. When he returned home, a chaotic political environment awaited him.

1964, an Informal Visit
İsmet İnönü, in the company of his wife Mevhibe İnönü2, visited Williamsburg (Virginia) and New York City and was welcomed on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, with full military honors3 by Lyndon B Johnson on June 22, 1964, with these words:
“The American people remember with deep appreciation your visit here last year in our national hour of sorrow upon the death of our beloved late President, John F Kennedy.
For myself, I shall never forget my visit to your country two years ago and the tremendous outpouring of friendship for America that your people demonstrated so generously in your cities and countryside…I was inspired by both your vision and your determination to lead Türkiye toward the fulfillment of the dreams of the great Atatürk, at whose side you once worked.”
After this expression of friendship and three face-to-face meetings, President Lyndon B Johnson sent the historic “Johnson Letter” to İsmet İnönü, to prevent Türkiye’s intervention in Cyprus stating that Türkiye’s unilateral actions could lead to war with Greece in a very harsh and vulgar style including humiliating expressions, on June 5, 1964. “Although its existence was known from the first day, it was officially revealed to the Turkish public in 1966.” This letter was described as the first hitch in US-Türkiye relations.
Almost 60 years later, hopes remain high, with more offers, official visits, constant negotiations, and increased political pressures. The time is right again to overcome differences and mend fences in the strained relations between Türkiye and the US, both of which are not willing to fully back down from their opposing views and divergent policies. ■