“Get your stinking hands off”: Türkiye beats pots with NATO
“Türkiye is leaving NATO”? This headline was recently published in one of the oldest and most authoritative Turkish daily newspapers, Hürriyet. The Turkish side has not taken any practical steps to terminate its membership in the alliance, but this trend is very clearly visible.
The reason for the next round of reproaches and claims between Turkey and NATO was outright blackmail from the United States.
Thus, a large group of American congressmen sent a letter to President Biden demanding that he “freeze” the contract for the supply of his fourth-generation fighters General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. Thus, the United States intends to force Ankara to lift its veto on Sweden and Finland joining the alliance.
It is extremely difficult for Turkey to take such a step. The action in Stockholm, where right-wing Danish politician Rasmus Paludan publicly burned the Koran in front of the Turkish Embassy, had a very powerful resonance. For the Turks, who claim to be one of the leaders of the Islamic world, a concession to the Americans threatens a significant loss of authority.
In addition, the real reason for the US ruling circles' dissatisfaction with Turkey is not related solely to the blocking of the Scandinavians' entry into NATO. Otherwise, how can we explain the situation that our publication has already written about?
Several years ago, Turkey signed a contract for the supply of F-35 fighter jets and even paid for it. Until now, the United States has not delivered its planes and has not returned the money - about one and a half billion dollars.
It is obvious that the problem of relations with NATO (read the USA) is much deeper and more serious than the current disagreements...
Most of the world's media, as if on orders, spun a powerful flywheel of criticism against Turkey. The American magazine Foreign Policy came out with the threatening headline “NATO must resist Turkey’s blackmail.” Here are quotes from this publication:
“Turkey has a controversial reputation as a stabilizing power vis-à-vis its NATO neighbors... Turkey has controversial and illegal drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean... It uses aggressive rhetoric and a show of force against Greece, its NATO ally...”
The German magazine Stern published articles making similar points:
"NATO leaders must put pressure on Erdogan."
Stern, in his analysis of the situation in the country, stated:
“Turkey negotiates with Putin and the West, despises NATO and starts a war in Syria.”
The British The Economist featured on its cover a silhouette of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the crescent of the Turkish flag, with the caption “Turkey is on the brink of disaster.”
One gets the feeling that all the mentioned texts, like dozens of others, were written according to the same “manual” and the same patterns. Only publications in the Greek press were somewhat excessively harsh. Thus, the Greek newspaper Ta Nea presented its readers with an analysis under the heading “Erdogan’s Turkey – NATO’s Trojan horse.”
The confrontation between Greece and Turkey, which escalated after the discovery of huge deposits of natural gas in the coastal waters of the Mediterranean Sea, is not a new story and is absolutely local. Yes, this situation is quite explosive, but the likelihood of an armed conflict is low. Of course, unless someone wants to use the situation to create a new source of tension in the world.
Of particular concern is the rhetoric of the Greek media and politicians associated with the upcoming presidential elections in the Greek part of the island of Cyprus, scheduled for February 12.
“As Ankara intensifies its inflammatory rhetoric and threats of war, Cypriots head to the polls today to elect a new president. This is undoubtedly an extremely important electoral process, in which not only the future of the Cypriot people is at stake, but also the stability of the entire Eastern Mediterranean.
The new president will have to deal with Ankara's aggression, which is expected to escalate further as Turkey approaches elections, as Cyprus is a "safe" field for Recep Tayyip Erdogan's threats to be carried out," the Greek newspaper writes.
That is, “Ankara’s aggression” is presented as something inevitable and expected. This is alarming...
And yet, the main subject of dissatisfaction with the United States and NATO, which it controls, is the rapprochement between President Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, insufficient support for anti-Russian sanctions and Turkey’s too independent (according to the Americans) foreign policy.
Judging by numerous publications, the West believes that changes in the country’s policy will occur after a change in the leadership of Turkey and Recep Erdogan himself.
The Turkish media, in turn, do not mince words. A stir in the world media was caused by an appeal to the American Ambassador in Ankara made by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu:
“Get your stinking hands off Turkey. I make myself very clear. I know very well how you would like to create hostility towards Turkey. Turn off your big smile and keep it away from Turkey."
Soylu accused US embassies in Europe of coordinating efforts to control the continent. Soylu, a staunch critic of the United States, blames them for the attempted military coup in 2016.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry called on the ambassadors of nine Western countries to close their consulates in Istanbul, citing the risk of terrorist attacks.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called the countries' move "deliberate," adding that the countries' embassies did not share any information with Turkey due to the "security reasons" they cited.
The head of the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Soylu, in turn, accused these countries of waging “psychological warfare” against his country, which could harm the tourism sector.
Tensions around Turkey continue to rise. However, most analysts are convinced that neither NATO, nor the United States, nor Ankara will take drastic steps until May 14 of this year, when the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Turkey.
Unexpected news from Turkey has shaken American hopes for a quick change of power in Turkey. The well-known local company Asal Research conducted a sociological study on the upcoming elections. For the first time in recent years, Erdogan managed to overtake his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in popularity.
The Turkish opposition has not yet nominated its official candidate (this is expected to happen on February 13), but Kılıçdaroğlu is considered the most likely opponent of Recep Erdogan in the upcoming elections. The current head of the country was supported by almost 55% of survey participants.
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