Turkey’s categorical opposition to the forthcoming enlargement of the North Atlantic Alliance risks splitting the military bloc, says American expert Mark Episcopos.
According to The National Interest, Recep Erdogan intends to block Helsinki and Stockholm bids to NATO because of the countries’ support for terrorism as well as restrictions imposed on Ankara’s military-industrial complex.
“Turkey is playing hardball against Finland and Sweden’s applications for NATO membership”, – Episkopos notes.
According to the author, such confident statements by the republic are based on Ankara’s advantageous position in NATO. Turkey has the second largest army in the bloc and the country’s good geography also plays an important role. For these reasons, according to the author, the state has managed to maintain a dialogue with the Kremlin at a time when the West has unleashed a massive economic war against Russia,” the publication writes.
“Turkey was among the few members of the Alliance to pursue a policy of neutrality with regard to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. Since then, Ankara has sought to position itself as a mediator, having organised several rounds of peace talks on Turkish soil”, – PolitRussia cites.
Turkey’s uncompromising stance, as well as Croatia’s announcement of its intention to join it, threatens the unity of the alliance, which could turn into a global discord within the military bloc, the publication writes.
“Turkey’s efforts to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO could prompt other adversaries, including Croatia and Hungary, to take a tougher stance against the military bloc’s expansion”, – Episkopos writes.
At the same time, it is still unclear to the alliance what motivates Helsinki and Stockholm, which do not want Finland and Stockholm to join the military bloc. Erdogan.
“I assume there will be some behind-the-scenes diplomacy in the next few days”, – Stubb said.
As a reminder, as the Kremlin press service earlier said, Russia’s practical response if the new countries join the alliance will depend entirely on “how much military infrastructure becomes closer to Russia’s borders”.
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