By Janet Ekstract
ISTANBUL- Ever since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it known that he would block Sweden and Finland’s bids for NATO membership, the military alliance has been decidedly on edge and for good reason. There have been a number of analysts and experts who have weighed in on Erdogan’s possible motives including the accusation that the Turkish leader is displaying support for Putin by protesting Sweden and Finland’s NATO aspirations while another speculation is Erdogan’s bid for F-35 warplanes that was blocked in 2019 after Turkey purchased the Russian-made S-400 missile system, is a reason.
On Saturday, the Turkish leader speaking to reporters, said that last week’s talks regarding NATO membership for Sweden and Finland were not at “the desired level.” Erdogan still insists that since Sweden and Finland have not taken steps to meet Turkey’s demands while he, again accuses Sweden of harboring terrorists who “walk the streets of Stockholm while Sweden protects them.” The argument that Erdogan uses as his defense for blocking the Nordic countries’ NATO bids is flimsy at best. One only has to look to the not-so-distant past to recall that Turkey, especially in Istanbul and Ankara had safe havens for ISIL (Daesh) and a number of other terrorist groups. In fact, it is common knowledge that various terrorist elements operate within Istanbul and various other cities in Turkey with the full knowledge of the Turkish government. One can be certain that Turkey’s secret service MIT is completely aware of this fact.
The old adage. ‘People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones’ is certainly apropos in this situation and by no means should be taken lightly. As former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO, Michael Ryan told Fox News: “All nations act in their own self-interest all the time.” He added: “(Erdogan) defines the Turkish self-interests and he defines how they pursue it. And in this case, he views Turkey as a rising regional power, and he is pushing hard in every direction to certain Turkish prerogatives.” Ryan pointed out that there are certain dynamics involved in Erdogan’s statements regarding Sweden and Finland.
A case in point is the reality that the Turkish defense stockpile has been falling short since the U.S. blocked Ankara from purchasing U.S. F-35 warplanes in 2019 after it purchased the Russian-made S-400 missile system. At the time, the administration said: “The F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence-collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.” The Turkish aim is to upgrade air defense systems with modern U.S. F-16 aircraft to boost its military capabilities especially during Turkey’s continuing air disputes with Greece and to use for its operations in Syria. Ryan’s point is that the Turkish president is playing hardball to get what he wants and as Ryan highlighted: “It’s a cat and mouse game,” adding “Congress really does have something that the Turks want.” At the same time, Ryan emphasized that the “Turkish have something that Congress wants – which is Sweden, Finland in NATO. That may be Erdogan’s play all along.”
Meanwhile, a European policy expert Nile Gardiner spoke to Fox News on the issue, commenting: “The U.S. can’t have Erdogan calling the shots here.” Gardiner who is director of The Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom also said: “All NATO allies need to be able to work together. It breaks down if you have one or two countries who are trying to derail the future of the alliance- which is what Turkey is doing.” Gardiner further stated: “The Turks are undermining NATO by taking this reckless stance,” and added, “President Erdogan has a clear choice between either helping NATO or weakening it, and he needs to be on the right side of history here, instead of appeasing the Russians.” Some foreign policy experts see Erdogan’s move as a way to support Putin to what they claim is an effort to strategically block NATO expansion and create a rift among the alliance.
It is especially crucial, in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that Sweden and Finland become full fledged NATO members without delay. Leaders of both Nordic nations reiterated their neutral stance changed after they saw what Russia did in Ukraine and their response was that Russia can no longer be trusted. NATO military commanders lauded the NATO bids of the two countries stating that it would increase NATO defenses and identify “vulnerabilities” in Europe’s security. If there is one thing that everyone agrees on, it is that the nature of security in Europe has changed, as NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated. Observing the situation from outside, it would appear that Erdogan somehow aims to court favor with Putin by remaining steadfast in his stance on the NATO bids. As Michael Ryan sees it: ‘Erdogan’s the kind of guy that doesn’t want to be anybody’s lackey.” Ryan added: “He’s trying to balance his advantages while minimizing his disadvantages.” Erdogan’s stance remains steadfast: “We cannot repeat the mistakes made in the past on (admitting) countries that embrace and feed such terrorists into NATO which is a security organization.”
That said, albeit a number of experts and analysts will be questioning how Erdogan can keep insisting on Sweden and Finland “harboring terrorists” while Istanbul and other regions in Turkey are a haven for several prominent terrorist groups that operate within Turkey as well as outside of it. It bears repeating the adage once again: ‘People who live in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones.” It remains to be seen just how far Erdogan’s ‘stone throwing’ will get him when the majority of NATO members remain in favor of Sweden and Finland’s NATO bids.
