Historian and orientalist Daniel Pipes, head of the Middle East Forum’s analytical center in the US, suggested that Turkey be removed from NATO. He stated this in an interview with TVP World.
The expert believes that the Turkish authorities are against the inclusion of Sweden and Finland in the alliance, as they try to gain various benefits for themselves with the help of “NATO blackmail”.
From 1952 to 2002 Turkey was a very good NATO ally, but in the last 20 years it has deteriorated tremendously. Not even an ally. Ankara pursues a hostile policy towards NATO members – Greece for example … Turkey invaded Syria, threatened Europe with Syrian refugees, bought S-400 systems from Russia, ”says the orientalist, Turkey from the North Atlantic Alliance listed the reasons for exclusion.
Pipes added that Turkey is “almost not a member of the alliance”. [НАТО]”.
“The time has come to remove Turkey from NATO. Let it go to Russia, China and Iran. Well done,” added the head of the analytical center.
A week ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara strongly opposes the admission of Sweden and Finland into NATO. According to him, the Turks are not ready to ally with the states that impose restrictions and sanctions on Ankara.
The Turkish president also added that representatives of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Turkey, operate in these Scandinavian countries. According to Erdogan, Stockholm and Helsinki refuse to extradite those whom Ankara considers terrorists.
They said they would not extradite terrorists. “Turkey will not approve the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO,” he said.
Ankara also sets out requirements for the approval of applications from Sweden and Finland. Bloomberg reported that the Turkish side wants to renew its membership in the program for the procurement of the newest F-35 fighter jets from the United States. Turkey also demands the lifting of sanctions on the purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia.
At the same time, the Turkish leadership stipulates that all organizations it considers terrorists to be shut down in Finland and Sweden.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu urged other NATO countries to take Ankara’s concerns into account.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would “quickly decide” on the future membership of Sweden and Finland. He also urged Turkey to take into account its concerns on this issue and said Ankara is a “valuable ally”.
“We must stay united at this historic moment,” the official said.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that the country is ready to discuss all issues of interest on the bilateral agenda with Turkey in the context of the Finnish side’s accession to NATO.
“We are open to discussing all issues. Turkey can be open and constructive about our membership. These discussions are already ongoing and will continue in the coming days,” he said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde accused Turkey of spreading disinformation, following Ankara’s statements that Stockholm claimed to support the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is recognized as a terrorist organization in many countries around the world. According to the minister, the Swedish side included the PKK in the list of terrorists in 1984, following the relevant decision of Turkey.
Linde said, “We would like to remind you that, due to widespread misinformation about Sweden and the PKK, it was Olof Palme’s government that included the PKK as a terrorist organization for the first time after Turkey in 1984. This attitude has not changed.”
As the Minister stated, the European Union followed Turkey’s example with regard to the PKK only in 2002, when the organization was banned in Sweden for 18 years.
Finally, US President Joe Biden sought approval from Congress for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. He stressed that these countries fully comply with NATO criteria. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden had no intention of discussing this issue with Erdogan.
Source: Gazeta
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