Turkey: Difficult Partner, Vital Ally
zlotx5
Mon, 07/17/2023 – 09:06
Turkish President Recep Erdogan is hardly what his fellow NATO leaders would call a loyal ally. Although Turkey has been a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 1952, under Erdogan’s leadership it has edged closer to Russia in recent years. In 2017, Turkey placed an order for Russian S-400 surface to air missiles, resulting in suspension from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program and U.S. sanctions against the Turkish Presidency of Defense Industries, a civil institution that manages the acquisition of military equipment. In 2019, Turkish forces invaded northern Syria to strike at the Syrian Democratic Forces, an ally of the United States in the war against ISIS but which Erdogan’s government claims is affiliated with the Kurdistan People’s Congress (KGK—formerly the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK), a terrorist group that has been at war with Ankara since 1984. This action led to further U.S., Canadian, and European Union sanctions and an arms embargo against Turkey. Since the start of the Ukraine War, more than 150,000 Russians have flooded Turkey and many have opened businesses there, giving a distinct Russian tint to Turkey’s larger cities. Turkey has …read more
Source:: Hoover Institution
