The veto card and Erdogan's game!
Erdogan is trying to bargain with the West, but such a policy draws Turkey even more into the conflict, writes Evrensel. It risks facing new threats and pressure, as it proves that Erdogan cannot stand up to the United States and NATO.
The launch of the process for the accession of Finland and Sweden bordering Russia to NATO has once again shown that the Ukrainian confrontation is not limited to Ukraine. He revealed the imperialist struggle for supremacy continuing in the background, as well as the American-NATO aggression.
At the same time, the Erdogan administration in Turkey, which announced support for the NATO policy of "open doors" (accepting new members), in response to Finland and Sweden's applications for membership in the alliance, puts a "veto" card on the table, claiming that "they support terrorist organizations." However, such a policy, which consists in using the contradictions between the imperialists to their advantage, is gradually becoming a dangerous gamble, as a result of which Turkey may face new pressure and threats.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, although they openly support Ukraine, in order to get out of the difficult political and economic situation they face, they want the conflict to end with a "compromise" between Russia and Ukraine. On the other hand, the US and the UK are doing everything possible to deepen it and stretch it for a long period of time. Moreover, they are putting serious pressure on their allies in this matter.
At this stage, the question of Finland and Sweden's membership in NATO shows that American imperialism has turned the Ukrainian conflict into an opportunity to aggravate the crisis and bind Western allies to its political axis.
We should not lose sight of the other side of this move in the direction of encircling Russia primarily through Finland, with which it has a long border. China has also been targeted, accused by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of "unwillingness to condemn Russia."
While the United States encouraged Finland and Sweden to join NATO, gave them assurances, and Germany and France made statements of support, President Erdogan cut off: "We don't support it," and drew all the attention to himself. When asked why Turkey is against the membership of these countries, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu) answers: "Because these are the countries that contribute to the terrorist organizations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the People's Self-Defense Units (YPG)." Cavusoglu also says that a significant part of the Turkish people object to the entry of the two states into NATO.
Of course, neither Cavusoglu nor Erdogan cares about listening to the voice of the people and fulfilling their will. Otherwise, they would have taken into account the opinion of their citizens, most of whom oppose Turkey's own membership in NATO, and would have taken steps towards withdrawing from the alliance even before they objected to the accession of these states. However, they not only do not seek to withdraw from NATO, but also advocate the expansion of this military organization of Western imperialists led by the United States, openly supporting the growing threat of imperialist war.
In this case, what does the Erdogan administration want to do by putting a veto card on the table regarding the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO?
First of all, it should be noted that if the Erdogan administration had consistently and resolutely opposed the membership of these countries in the alliance and, consequently, against the policy of American imperialism to deepen the crisis, then it would have been true at least twice a day like a broken clock. However, judging by the statements made following the talks between Cavusoglu and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, it becomes clear that "the hope of reaching a compromise", namely, bargaining, continues. This, in particular, was pointed out by the official representative of the Turkish President Ibrahim Kalın, noting: "Turkey has not closed the door for Sweden and Finland to join NATO and demands restrictions on terrorist activities in the Scandinavian countries."
As for the bargaining that the Erdogan administration is conducting, putting a veto card on the table, and the goals that it wants to achieve, we can say the following.
Firstly, although attention is drawn to the support of the PKK and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) / Syrian Democratic Forces (SDG), the participation of these countries directly does not have a decisive role in terms of balance in the region (in the Middle East). Therefore, the bargaining, which is conducted through the support provided by these countries, in fact means an attempt by the Erdogan administration to obtain concessions from the United States. Given that American imperialism, being the defining force in NATO, continues to cooperate with the Kurds in Syria based on its regional interests, it is not surprising that the Erdogan administration, which sees this cooperation as a great threat to its regional policy, seeks to use the current crisis to obtain new concessions in this regard. Especially at a time when cross-border operations are still very useful for inciting chauvinism in the country, supporting the bourgeois opposition and increasing pressure on democratic forces, and the weakening government is in dire need of this.
Secondly, Erdogan tried to turn his mediating role between Russia and Ukraine into an opportunity to promote a "great country" and a "strong leader" primarily to restore lost support in domestic politics. However, this has reached an impasse, and for such propaganda they are now trying to use the veto card in NATO.
Thirdly, by not openly supporting the membership of the two countries in the North Atlantic Alliance, the Erdogan administration may be hoping to deflect Russia's reaction from itself.
However, the veto card that the Turkish leadership puts on the table for its own salvation is nothing more than a kind of gambling game, because of which the peoples living in Turkey are highly likely to face new conflicts and threats. After all, despite the ongoing bargaining, the position taken from the very beginning of the Ukrainian conflict indicates that the Erdogan administration cannot resist the pressure of the United States and NATO. Therefore, the process of Finland and Sweden joining NATO will develop in such a way that it will bind the Erdogan administration to the US-NATO axis even more and in one way or another will further limit its space for action.
It should also be noted that this process will gradually complicate Turkey's policy of "balance" in relations with Russia, and, accordingly, increase the risk of a clash with Russia itself, the Syrian administration and Iran in the regions held by the Turkish authorities under occupation together with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* and the Free Syrian Army, primarily total in Idlib and Afrin.
As a result, the current policy of Erdogan, who is ready for any bargaining in order to preserve his power, resembles the situation of a player who repeatedly loses at the card table and, in order to be able to continue the game, borrows more and more from other players. But with such a game, the losers are also the peoples of Turkey and the region. Because this policy of bargaining draws the country into a conflict, the consequences of which we will feel even more strongly in the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.
* – a terrorist organization, banned in the Russian Federation. – Approx. InoSMI.
Author: Yusuf Karataş
