It is a given that Turkey uses every opportunity given to it in order to resort to bargains and make profits, either financially or politically, in view of the upcoming presidential elections.
The role of the Alliance’s “evil and reactionary child” is not unknown to Ankara. The purchase of Russian missile systems was an example of the balance policy that Ankara wants to pursue, but it was excluded from the F-35 program, which Greece aspires to join, according to recent statements on Sunday. Mitsotaki in the US Congress.
Statements, which, together with the positions on the Cyprus issue, provoked a strong reaction from the Turkish sidewhich went so far as to criticize the US senators for their attitude towards the Greek Prime Minister.
The major issue, however, at this stage, is Ankara’s “veto” on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bid. CNN, which has direct information from the US government on international issues and developments in the Alliance, analyzes the stance of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey, but also the purpose of Ankara.
CNN initially reported that “Turkey surprised its allies” and blocked the two Nordic countries’ membership bid, which seemed to be moving forward for sure.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan He said he did not see “positive” the Scandinavian countries’ desire to join the alliance, saying they had “hostels for terrorist organizations”. He told his party’s lawmakers in Ankara on Wednesday that he expected NATO members to “understand, respect and support” Turkey’s security issues. Turkey, which joined the alliance three years after its founding in 1949 and has the group’s second largest army, has said it will not support the bids if its demands are not met.
Charges of “supporting terrorists”
Erdogan accused the two countries of hosting members of the separatist militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK. The PKK, which seeks an independent state in Turkey, has been in an armed struggle with that country for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey.
The crisis has brought to the fore long-standing Turkish grievances against Western nations and NATO allies, and given Ankara the opportunity to use its position in the alliance to extract concessions. Turkey has complained about the lack of support it received in its fight against Kurdish fighters, whom Ankara sees as the top threat to its national security. He accused Sweden of hosting its opponents and providing support to Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, whom Ankara considers an extension of the PKK.
Ankara also says the two nations have not responded to extradition requests. The wanted men are accused of links to the PKK as well as FETO – the group led by US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey believes was behind the failed 2016 coup attempt (a charge Gulen denies).
Finland and Sweden expressed optimism on Tuesday that common ground could be found with Turkey over its objections. Sweden’s finance minister, Michael Damberg, told the public broadcaster SVT on Monday that his country was not a “friend of terrorism” and that it was taking “anything very serious about terrorism”. “We will of course use diplomacy, we will clear up any possible uncertainties,” he said.
Sweden’s Foreign Minister Anne Linde said on Saturday that her country, like the rest of the EU, considers the PKK a terrorist organization. The government has said it is ready to remove any obstacles to talks with Turkey. Ankara has also called on Sweden and Finland to lift an arms embargo imposed on Turkey in 2019 following its military offensive in northeastern Syria. Turkey has launched an operation against Kurdish-led YPG forces allied with the United States and other Western nations in their fight against ISIS. The attack sparked US and EU condemnation and led many European countries to impose an arms embargo on Ankara.
“We would not say yes to those who impose sanctions on Turkey to join NATO,” Erdogan told reporters Monday night. “Because then NATO would cease to be a security organization and it would become a place where representatives of terrorist organizations gather,” he added.
Presidential elections in Turkey
The Turkish president is no stranger to fiery rhetoric, especially during the election period. A push on the inner front could help at the polls. Turkey is going to the polls next year, and experts believe that the current state of the economy – high inflation and a currency that has lost almost half its value last year – will cost Erdogan in the polls.
The “bad” relationship with Biden
Analysts say Turkey’s veto on NATO could be used as a lever not only against future members but also today.
“It may not be all about Sweden and Finland,” Asli Aydintasbas, senior policy fellow at the European External Relations Council, wrote in an article. “The president almost certainly sees this as the right time to voice his grievances for existing NATO members, especially with the Biden government, which has kept the Turkish leader at bay,” he said.
A key issue may be the frustration of the Turkish president who failed to establish a working relationship with US President Joe Biden as he did with his predecessors, according to Aydintasbas. Erdogan complained to reporters last month that he and Biden did not have a relationship with Presidents Trump and Obama. “Of course, there are some meetings from time to time, but they should have been more advanced,” he said.
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