WASHINGTON – ANSWER. “President Erdogan’s turn towards full totalitarianism-Islamism was completed after the alleged 2016 coup,” the report said. Mike Pompeo in his book “Never Give Up an Inch”in which, among other things, he reveals hitherto unknown incidents reflecting the deep mistrust and problematic nature US-Turkish relations. He also describes how he really sees it Erdogan and the warlords around him, who, he points out, “often lie to the dictators they serve.”

He recalls that when he visited Ankara in his capacity as director of the CIA in 2017, Erdogan forced him to watch a three-hour video of the coup, which he said was “so despicable and endless that it compromised my mental health.” The same video came to mind again two years later when, as Secretary of State, he traveled to Ankara with Vice President Mike Pence with the daunting task of resolving the difficult situation that arose after the infamous Telephone conversation between Trump and Erdogan and the announcement of the withdrawal of US troops from Syria.

“When we arrived at the palace, Erdogan asked the vice president to meet in private for a few minutes. Half an hour later I told his colleagues that I definitely need to see Mike Pence. Nothing. Another 20 minutes went by and I was already set. Without asking permission, I went to the room where the meeting was taking place. The door was locked. I told my colleague that I would break it. I was already beginning to worry that Erdogan forced Pence to watch the same three-hour video. My colleagues were afraid that if I tried to break the door, I would run into Erdogan’s guards, who might react aggressively. Surprisingly, they let me in.”

What he describes next proves, he says, beyond doubt, that “military leaders who serve dictators often hide the truth from them.” And he explains that “the conversation deteriorated very quickly. In the end, Erdogan agreed to a temporary truce. We had maps spread out on the table, and we showed them exactly where the American soldiers were. Erdogan started questioning us and asking if we were sure of what we were showing him. When we told him that we were absolutely sure, he looked at his people with a look that spoke for itself: “You lied to me.”

Explosions of anger

Mike Pompeo reveals in his book Never Back Down a three-hour coup video that Erdogan forced him to watch.

Mr. Pompeo recalled another explosive incident early in the Trump administration, when Erdogan adviser Ibrahim Kalin and intelligence chief Hakan Zidan were summoned to Roosevelt’s White House office to inform them of the U.S. decision to support Syrian Kurds (SDF) for his treatment ISIS. “I have never seen so much anger fill a room and flare up so quickly,” he says. “They ran out of the room in a rage, what just happened is not good for our relationship, but it turned out to be the right decision.”

Elsewhere in his narrative, he confirms the frequent telephone contacts between Presidents Trump and Erdogan. “He kept calling him asking him to give him Gülen, constantly complaining about the support we gave to the Kurds.” In the chapter about his murder Jamal Khashoggi he does not hide the real feelings that prevailed in the US government about Turkey’s position. “We laughed with President Trump at the leaks by Erdogan and his secret services about what happened at the consulate. Erdogan was almost a dictator, why would he complain about a government-sanctioned assassination?” he wonders.

He also describes his reasons for the decision, which, when it was made, caused quite a sensation. His decision to visit in November 2020 Ecumenical Patriarchy without meeting Turkish officials. “I wanted to send a support message this way. Erdogan and Cavusoglu were unhappy, but the Orthodox world realized that America was on their side.”

The way he presents his relationship with her is completely different. Hellas and the role of our country in the region. He explains that his decision to focus on and take advantage of new opportunities in Europe was entirely conscious. In this context, he includes the strengthening of relations with Greece, the development of which he is proud. “A country that slipped into anti-Americanism in the 1970s now sees the US as its preferred ally. I focused with the Greek Prime Minister on resolving conflicts arising from Turkey’s illegal activities in the field of research in the Eastern Mediterranean, I participated as the first US Secretary of State in a 3 + 1 scheme for energy prospects in the region, I did what I did not many years ago, I sent a letter to my Greek colleague, highlighting the role of Greece as a pillar of stability in the region, and urging Turkey to stop deliberate provocations in the region.”

Mr Pompeo also cites his close personal relationship with Mr Mitsotakis and the fact that he and his wife Susan were received at the Prime Minister’s residence in Crete. “Our relationship with an ally that plays a key role in the vital Eastern Mediterranean region is now stronger than at any time since the Marshall Plan.”