commentator National Interest Mark Ebishop believes that Turkey’s reluctance to accept Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership has dragged the alliance into a trap.
According to him, NATO leadership and Western governments may try to pressure Ankara to influence its position. For example, the United States may suspend an F-16 export deal with Turkey, and other members of the alliance may limit the Turkish military’s interoperability with the armed forces of other members of the organization.
At the same time, the observer does not exclude that such steps of the West can lead to unpleasant consequences. For example, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will decide to “double up”.
Erdogan may choose to double down instead of backing out, as he did in response to Western sanctions after Russia’s 2017 decision to import the S-400 missile defense system.
The author also notes that NATO does not have a mechanism to exclude countries from the bloc, and it is unlikely that Erdogan will decide to leave it on his own. As a result, an “offended Turkey” could weaken the alliance from within for decades to come.
Former Erdogan gave an ultimatum Sweden and Finland will join NATO.
Source: Gazeta
