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It was an extremely strange situation in Russia. Suddenly an unexpected conflict took place in the country itself, with the whole world watching live. It was the question for everyone whether Russian President Putin would keep his power, because the Wagner Group private army was advancing towards Moscow. However, thanks to the President of Belarus, the rebellion of the Wagner Group has come to an end, allowing Putin to maintain his power. A strange state of affairs, but unfortunately we are used to that from Russia by now.
During the short-lived rebellion of the Wagner Group, however, a remarkable development occurred that has largely been ignored. The development I am talking about is the attitude of Turkish President Erdoğan towards the conflict between the Wagner Group and Putin.
While most NATO countries closely followed developments in Russia but did not intervene, news suddenly came from the Kremlin. Erdoğan is said to have given full support to President Putin in his fight against the rebel Wagner Group. The Turkish state news agency Anadolu Ajansi also confirmed a little later that Erdoğan reported to Putin that Turkey is willing to contribute to a quick and peaceful solution in Russia. This may seem like a harmless thing, but as a NATO member state, Turkey is undermining the alliance’s pro-Ukraine policy by supporting Putin in this way.
Of course we have known for some time that Turkey is not an extremely reliable ally for the other NATO member states. While NATO has decided to sanction Russia in order to weaken Putin’s war machine, Turkey has still not done so. Turkey’s economic self-interest proved more important than the Ukrainian people, who continue to suffer from a war they did not ask for.
Moreover, Turkey is one of the NATO member states that decided to play into Putin’s hands by not allowing Finland and Sweden to join NATO directly. Finland and Sweden wanted certainty and security against a potential Russian attack, and NATO membership would provide them with that. Indeed, the only thing that seems guaranteed to deter Putin is a strong army, and that is what Sweden and Finland would get behind them by joining NATO.
Despite this, Erdoğan decided it was more important that he get his way before allowing the Scandinavian countries to join. Turkey’s self-interest once again proved to be more important than the security of other countries.
Finland was finally allowed to join NATO after much unnecessary hassle from Turkey and became the newest NATO member state on April 4, 2023. Sweden was not allowed by Turkey, among others, and the country is therefore still in danger of a potential war. Russia can also more easily intimidate Sweden at the moment, precisely because it is not a member of NATO.
Partly thanks to the Turkish president, European security is under threat, so that Putin’s indirect influence in Europe remains greater than it should be.
And yes, unfortunately every country often opts for self-interest in international politics. It’s not a fair world. That’s the reality. But if Turkey’s self-interest time and time again fails to align with the interest of the rest of NATO, then it seems time to part ways.
In addition, Turkey is a country where human rights are being violated all the time. Moreover, the country is literally in league with the enemy. This is evident from Erdoğan’s support for Putin. As far as I am concerned, Erdoğan has proven that under Erdoğan, Turkey will always go for its own interests and don’t care about allies. NATO cannot count on Turkey and is therefore better off repelling the country.
It is true that Turkey can be an important strategic partner for NATO, but that should not mean that the treaty organization accepts that its principles are being pushed aside by Erdoğan. Nor should NATO tolerate potential NATO member Sweden being put in real danger, partly thanks to a country that gives few good reasons not to allow the prospective member to join.
Turkey today could not become a NATO member at all if they had to seek accession again. The values of NATO, such as human rights, democracy and individual freedom, are hard to find in Turkey.
The principles of the other NATO countries and Turkey therefore diverge too much. It is therefore not only a good idea to immediately expel Turkey from NATO, it is necessary. This way NATO can maintain its credibility and admit members who do fit into NATO.
2023-07-01 17:24:04
#Expel #Turkey #NATO #Joop #BNNVARA
