NATO Summit: Imperialist plans and petty calculations!
Despite the external unity, the NATO countries pursue different goals, writes the Turkish edition of Evrensel. According to the author of the article, all the leading powers of the alliance seek to benefit from the Ukrainian conflict.
Yusuf Karataş
Assessments of the Ukrainian conflict agree that he resurrected NATO, which was diagnosed with "brain death". Russia's military operation has indeed revealed the following picture: the differences between the US and EU imperialists have receded into the background. These forces have united on the issue of tough sanctions against Russia, as well as military and economic support for Ukraine. Moreover, significant steps have been taken to reduce dependence on Moscow in the field of energy, in connection with which the United States has long tried to put pressure on major European countries (primarily Germany). In addition, it can be said that the United Kingdom, the most important ally of the United States in Europe, also seeks to strengthen its own position through this process.
The statement by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the transfer of more than 20,000 additional troops to the eastern flank of NATO clearly shows how the US is using the Ukrainian conflict to strengthen its presence in Europe and involve the EU member states of the bloc in its strategy. The applications of Finland and Sweden to join the alliance also make sense as part of it.
However, the conflict is approaching the point where the price is getting higher and higher for countries that count on the exhaustion of Russia as the fighting drags on. Here it is worth paying attention to the results of the survey of the "European Council on Foreign Relations" (ECFR). While 35% of the participants in the survey conducted in ten European countries were in favor of "peace on any terms", only 22% of respondents spoke in favor of Russia's "defeat". In the first stages of the military conflict, supporters of "defeat" in all European countries, on the contrary, were in the majority. Of course, the decisive role in this trend is played by the fact that the price of prolonging the conflict and sanctions against Russia is gradually increasing. And the imperialists from the EU are forcing ordinary people to pay it.
In such a political environment, the summit of NATO leaders in Madrid will take place. The "new strategic concept" of the alliance will be announced at it, while it is assumed that the member countries will give a powerful signal of "unity".
However, a somewhat closer look shows that the powers of the alliance actually have different goals.
From the point of view of understanding the priorities of the United States, it is important that Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea are invited to the Madrid summit. The participation of these countries in the Asia-Pacific region once again shows that Washington considers China to be the main competitor in the imperialist struggle for the redistribution of the world. In addition, it indicates that in the strategic concept until 2030, China will be identified as a priority threat to the alliance.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, in turn, recalled that the Asia-Pacific region is not included in the zone of interests of the North Atlantic, and warned that inviting these countries to the summit would lead to even greater disagreements and confrontation.
It is known that another priority of the United States at the summit is the approval of the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO and an even more powerful signal of unity on this basis.
In this regard, the Erdogan administration's bargaining over the operation in Syria under the auspices of the "fight against terrorism" complicates the task of the United States. Until now, Washington has not wanted to enter into direct negotiations with Ankara on this topic. However, if the quadrilateral meeting at the level of leaders scheduled for today (the official representative of the Turkish President Kalın (Kalın) said that "at the request" of NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg Erdogan will meet with the leaders of Finland and Sweden) does not give a result, Biden is likely to intervene too.
On the other hand, it is not difficult to guess that the most important topic of the summit, in which the Ukrainian leader Zelensky will also make a speech, will be Ukraine and decisions in the direction of even greater support for it.
But this does not mean that if the United States gets what they want from the summit, they will not give the green light to "peaceful" negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in the near future. In America, remarkable statements have been made in recent days on this score. First, Henry Kissinger, one of the country's former secretaries of state, said at the World Economic Forum that prolonging the conflict would distance Russia from Europe and bring it even closer to China, and also added that in order to reach a consensus, Ukraine should give up the territories to Russia. Then US President Biden answered the question "should Ukraine give up land for peace?" answered: "This is their land, I have no right to vote. However, it is necessary to compromise. For peace in Ukraine, it may be necessary to make territorial concessions and sit down at the negotiating table."
These statements show that the US leaves room for a new compromise in order to limit the ability of the EU imperialists to act independently of them. The United States does not want Russia to be tied to China even more, and these powers opposed them as a single bloc.
Like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the most ardent apologist of the fighting in Ukraine, the new chief of the General Staff, Patrick Sanders, also says that Europe should prepare for a long war against Russia. Of course, these statements are related to the fact that London sees the Ukrainian conflict as an opportunity to put pressure on the EU imperialists and, together with the United States, strengthen its position in Europe.
The most important recent move by the imperialists from the EU, the most affected by the military conflict (especially Germany and France), was the announcement of Ukraine and Moldova as "candidates for full membership in the union" on the eve of the NATO summit. This decision reveals their goal — to integrate these countries into their markets and turn losses in the short term into long-term benefits.
In this regard, it should be noted that German imperialism, despite short-term economic losses, has strengthened its position in terms of independence from the United States in the long term due to the resources allocated for armament and the legitimization of military interventions under the pretext of security.
Undoubtedly, Erdogan will become one of the most prominent figures of the NATO summit because of the "veto card" regarding the applications of Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. The President will try to play it for bargaining on issues that he hopes will help him retain power, primarily on the operation against the Syrian Kurds and the opening of a grain corridor in the Black Sea. However, no matter how Erdogan tries to put himself at the forefront in connection with his domestic policy needs, the priority of this summit will obviously be to determine the goals of NATO — the military organization of Western imperialists led by the United States — in the new period. Consequently, this bargaining aimed at preserving Erdogan's power, at the same time, will help the West to further subordinate Turkey to its goals.
Thus, although the pro—government Turkish media are trying to show that Erdogan is bargaining in favor of Turkey, in fact, this is not in the interests of the peoples of the republic - but a position in support of leaving the alliance, which turned the country into an imperialist military base.
