THE Turkey and its behavior are a problem for NATO she tells him SKAI and in Apostolos Maggeriadis, Jonathan Sanger, vice president of the Defense for Democracy Foundation in Washington.
Mr. Sanger thinks so Erdogan will finally lift his veto against Sweden and Finland, after finally managing to win some of the much he is asking of the United States.
Read the interview in detail:
SKAI journalist: Jonathan, we see Turkey’s opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO as a cynical US blackmail attempt to lift all sanctions against the Turkish defense industry. Do you feel that Erdogan could get anything out of this?
Jonathan Sanzer, Vice President Idr. Defense of Democracy: I think the United States is currently desperately looking for unity within NATO to strengthen its ranks. Certainly Sweden and Finland are considered a great advantage at the moment in this ongoing confrontation with Russia. We could see a situation in which Biden gives in to Erdogan’s demands, although I must say that it certainly seems to many of us right now that Turkey is clearly a problem within the NATO alliance especially as they put demands on the table. at the time of the crisis.
SKAI journalist: Correctly. But in the end do you think Turkey will withdraw its veto? And if so, what do you think Turkey would gain in return?
Jonathan Sanzer, Vice President Idr. Defense of Democracy: Look, I think you could definitely see the sanctions lifted. You could see the sale of F-16s accelerating. You could even see the F-35 being put back on the table. None of this, I think, is justified for a country that has proven to be an unreliable ally. But these are certainly the things that Erdogan is pushing for. By the way, apart from the military sector, we must also remember that there is a creeping lawsuit against Halkbank, the second largest bank, a public bank in Turkey. This is one of the demands. There is a lot that Erdogan needs from the United States. It still has a number of problems. So maybe he will try to make sure he gets at least one of them.
SKAI journalist: Yesterday, President Erdogan showed his annoyance against Greece for the purchase of weapons from the USA, but also the bases that the American government is building in Greece. Is he really so frustrated or is that part of the whole negotiation tactic you just described?
Jonathan Sanzer, Vice President Idr. Defense of Democracy: I think this is more of an election tactic. I think at the moment he is sending messages to his own people, especially to his political base, his party. I think this is probably more than what is happening. This is not a zero-sum game for Turkey. If Greece is able to buy new weapons or establish common ground with the United States, we should actually see this as an overall advantage for the stability of the region. I think this is just a political stance.
SKAI journalist: And finally, Jonathan, what do you think are the most important gains for Mitsotakis during his visit to the US this week?
Jonathan Sanzer, Vice President Idr. Defense of Democracy: I think, look, to be here right now and to be considered a valuable member of the NATO Alliance, to be considered a Western ally, an ally of the United States, I think is important. I am sure that some issues were discussed on how to further isolate Russia. And so I think it was just an incredibly important moment for the Greek-American Alliance. The question is what do we do from now on. It is always important to see what happens next in terms of how the plans are progressing. This is what we are watching now here in Washington.
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