In a bid to win over western approval, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday July 11 shifted Turkey’s policy towards Sweden’s accession into NATO. This move comes amid a tense period in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s tenure, following Wagner’s mutiny during the war in Ukraine.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has performed one of his trademark policy U-turns on Sweden’s accession to NATO that culminates a gradual pro-Western tilt of course since his May re-election.
Erdogan ended more than a year of wrangling and struck a deal Monday that will allow the Nordic nation to become the 32nd member of the US-led defense bloc.
It followed a dramatic day during which Erdogan upped the stakes by suddenly demanding a clear path for Turkey’s long-stalled accession to the European Union in return.
The new ask secured him a private meeting with EU chief Charles Michel and a pledge from Sweden and NATO to “support efforts to reinvigorate Turkey’s EU accession process”.
Erdogan’s refusal to budge on Sweden added to the growing perception that NATO member Turkey was turning into a Kremlin tool for sowing divisions in the West.
That image began to change after Erdogan turned to Wall Street-trained economists who want to improve relations with Western investors post-election.
He then hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for more than two hours of talks Friday that created huge unease in Moscow.
The deal on Sweden followed a call with US President Joe Biden during which Erdogan raised both EU accession and Turkey’s desire to acquire a large batch of F-16 fighter jets.
Few expect his westward turn to represent a fundamental or long-term shift.
Erdogan ended his meeting with Zelensky by declaring support for Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and approving a deal under which Kyiv could get more Turkish combat drones.
But Russia’s most vocal anger came in response to five Ukrainian commanders that Zelensky brought back with him to Kyiv from Turkey.
The Avov regiment fighters became national heroes in Ukraine because of their last-stand defense of Mariupol, now seized by Russia, in the first months of war.
They were supposed to stay in Turkey until the war was over under a deal arranged with Erdogan’s help in September 2022.
But Turkey’s membership of the European Union still looks like a distant prospect and Erdogan’s balancing acts will likely continue for the final five years of his rule.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
