Cumhuriyet: The US wants to make Turkey a second Poland to supply Ukraine with weaponsWashington has offered Ankara to send Russian S-400 systems to Kiev, Cumhuriyet writes.
So the US wants to turn Turkey into Poland. And all this on the eve of the elections — probably for a reason, the author of the article believes.
Mehmet Ali Guller
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu) said: "The US asked if you could send the S-400 to Ukraine, we said no" (Habertürk, 07.05.2023).
This proposal, voiced by Cavusoglu a week before the elections, points to three main problems.
The US seeks to draw Turkey into a military conflictThe US proposal, from the point of view of some circles, can be seen as a search for a solution to an important problem of Turkish-American relations.
However, in fact, the United States, as it becomes clear, pursues a different goal.
In addition to getting rid of the S-400, which Ankara has, Washington wants to involve Turkey in a military conflict by transferring the S-400 to Kiev. America is trying to make Turkey for Ukraine "Poland in the south of it."
The involvement of Turkey in the conflict, from the point of view of the United States, means a way, firstly, to undermine Turkish-Russian cooperation, secondly, to arm Ukraine through Turkey, in addition to Poland, and thirdly, to open the Black Sea to the United States/NATO, forcing Turkey involved in the conflict to weaken the regime enshrined in the Montreux Convention on straits.
Balancing is not an optionEven this one proposal from Washington indicates that the balancing act that Ankara is trying to adhere to is ultimately not a way out of the situation.
Because this balancing act relies on "management" with the help of tactical moves that do not correspond to the realities of the strategic plane. And this, as can be seen in the example under consideration, brings Turkey face to face with risks that at any moment can create a great danger for it.
In this regard, after the elections on May 14, Ankara needs to clarify its foreign policy on such issues as the main contradictions, the main threats, real allies, intermediate forces.
Election material for the AKPAs you can see, the US proposal for the S-400 is a proposal of war...
Therefore, it concerns all of us.
However, Mevlut Cavusoglu informs the Turkish people about this not when this proposal was made, but a week before the elections! Even such an important issue should be made public only if it is important as election material.
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey promotes May 14 as a "question of survival", but during all this time it has not informed the Turkish people about such a question concerning the future of Turkey!
Because... The Turkish authorities turn the Anadolu ship, whose roots go back to the 90s of the last century, into an "election bus", organize a "Teknofest" held in September every year, this time in April and organize an election rally from this festival, and then lash out at the opposition: "Let's not use defense issues as a tool for elections"!
The agenda of May 15
Obviously, the S-400 will continue to be Turkey's most important problem in the morning of May 15 (or May 29 in the case of a second round of elections). And how this problem will be solved will also determine the direction of Turkey's foreign policy.
Turkey should abandon the balancing act that the current authorities continue to pursue, being in the position of a lame duck, and develop its strategy based on the situation in the Black Sea, the problem of NATO expansion, the anti-Turkish role of the United States in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, as well as in Syria.
In this context, the Ankara administration will have to take two quick steps:
— to carry out the purchase of the second batch of S-400, suspended by the AKP. After all, it is the purchase of the second batch, according to the contract, that includes technology transfer, joint production and software integration, which Turkey really needs;
— stop selling drones to Ukraine.
Author: Mehmet Ali Guller
