"Are They on Our Side?"... The US Frustrated with 'NATO Outlier' Turkiye

Turkey Opposes Sweden and Finland NATO Membership
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Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, President of T?rkiye (Turkey). Photo by AP, Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] Frustrations are mounting in the United States over T?rkiye’s maverick behavior within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 23rd (local time), President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of T?rkiye contributed to opening Ukraine’s grain export routes through a four-party negotiation involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations. However, since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, he has shown stances that either do not align with NATO’s position or remain ambiguous.

For the U.S., which aims to strengthen military unity against Russia and increase the level of sanctions, T?rkiye is nothing short of a headache or a liability.

T?rkiye joined NATO in 1952 but has consistently demonstrated pro-Russian tendencies. Especially after the outbreak of the Ukraine war, it has voiced opinions different from those of the West, represented by the U.S. While President Erdo?an criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as "unacceptable," he did not participate in sanctions against Russia.

Moreover, on the 19th, he visited Tehran, Iran, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Both figures are heads of states that the U.S. regards with caution.

The main agenda of the summit was reportedly the Syrian issue, economic cooperation, and food security. Syria has been embroiled in civil war for over a decade since 2011. Currently, Russia and Iran support the government forces led by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while T?rkiye supports rebel groups based in northwestern Syria.

At the time, foreign media predicted that the two countries, under U.S. and Western sanctions, would strengthen their "anti-American alliance." Therefore, T?rkiye’s discussion of current issues with the leaders of these two countries could be seen as an act undermining NATO’s unity.

Furthermore, T?rkiye clashed with other NATO members over the potential new membership of Sweden and Finland. Earlier in May, Sweden and Finland abandoned their neutral status and submitted applications to join NATO in response to the Ukraine war. NATO requires unanimous approval from existing members for new admissions. However, T?rkiye opposed the NATO membership of the two countries.

The reason was that both countries were perceived to support the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which T?rkiye considers a terrorist organization. The PKK is a separatist armed group of Kurds active in T?rkiye, exhibiting far-left and socialist tendencies.

After more than a month of discord, on the 28th of last month, T?rkiye announced it would withdraw its opposition to Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership on the condition of △ extradition of PKK-related suspects △ extradition of PETO, an organization following President Erdo?an’s political opponents △ lifting the ban on arms exports.

However, as the two countries failed to fulfill their promises until recently, on the 18th, President Erdo?an warned, "If promises are not kept, I will not agree."

Meanwhile, President Erdo?an demonstrated political skill by securing a positive response regarding the long-desired purchase of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Previously, T?rkiye was banned from purchasing U.S. fighter jets after acquiring the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Recently, controversy arose as Turkish pilots repeatedly violated the airspace of neighboring Greece hundreds of times. Amid this, President Erdo?an leveraged the "strengthening of air power" card as a condition for allowing Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership.

However, with the U.S. Congress being unfavorable toward President Erdo?an, opposition to the F-16 sale remains, making the final deal uncertain.

The NYT cited T?rkiye’s geopolitical importance as the background for President Erdo?an’s independent and bold diplomatic politics. T?rkiye sits at the crossroads between East and West, necessitating pragmatic pursuits, and its domestic political and economic situations are also complex. Last month, T?rkiye’s inflation soared by 78.6%, fueling strong public criticism of the government. To quell this dissatisfaction, President Erdo?an is said to be stirring nationalism and leading the populace.

Former diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford told the NYT, "President Erdo?an is on our team, but he is definitely doing things that are not good for our team," adding, "I don’t think he will change."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.