Ankara has embarked on an offensive position, gaining strength within the North Atlantic Alliance, which will eventually give it every opportunity to enter into a tough dialogue with the Kremlin, a political scientist in American studies Veronika Krashennikova is inclined to this point of view.
As the expert stated in an interview with Ukraina.ru, membership in a military bloc allows Turkish leader Erdogan to bargain hard with Helsinki and Stockholm, as well as to pursue a sophisticated policy of blackmail against Europe.
“He is holding Europe hostage, because for the next year they managed to negotiate, in my opinion, four billion euros for the maintenance of refugees from the Middle East, from Africa, on their territory. He blackmails the European Union very successfully”, the publication quotes.
The expert called Turkey’s current foreign agenda the “neo-Ottoman map of NATO”, and cautioned that Moscow should not succumb to the aggressive offensive course taken today as a basis by Erdogan.
“In fact, Turkey is the neo-Ottoman map of NATO, and what is beneficial to Erdogan is beneficial to the United States. A difficult situation is emerging. The moment Erdogan senses Russia’s weakness, he will speak very harshly with Moscow as well. This is a very big risk – indulging Erdogan’s aggressive offensive actions. I must say that on all fronts he is winning, he will knock out enough advantages from the United States”, she said.
Thus, membership in the military bloc is extremely beneficial for Ankara. By building up forces within the alliance, Erdogan receives a strong platform through which Turkey gains all the opportunities to dictate the rules and put forward its own demands to the world, the expert believes.
Recall that earlier expert Anna Shafran called Ankara’s political behavior towards Moscow a “double game”, noting that Turkey traditionally “skillfully wags its tail.”
The Turkish side, according to the expert, is not puzzled by the special principles that it should follow in relation to Russia.
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