Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, historian and orientalist, called for Turkey’s expulsion from NATO on TVP World.
He called the position, policy and actions of Ankara on joining the alliance of Sweden and Finland a banal blackmail. According to Pipes, Turkey is trying to bargain for advantages in exchange for agreeing to expand the alliance. The expert did not fail to recall and criticize all the directions of Ankara’s international policy over the past 20 years:
“From 1952 to 2002, Turkey was a very good NATO ally, but in the last 20 years it has become extremely bad. Not even an ally. Ankara pursues a policy hostile to NATO members such as Greece, it invaded Syria, threatened Europe with Syrian migrants, buys C complexes -400 for Russia. It’s time to exclude Turkey from NATO. Let it go to Russia, China and Iran. Good riddance.”
Finland and Sweden submitted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg applications to join the alliance. Turkey said it could not say “yes” to these countries joining the alliance because of their approaches to the Kurdish problem.
The head of the leading faction of the European Parliament – the European People’s Party (EPP) – Manfred Weber said that Turkey could expect isolation if it blocks the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO:
“Anyone who questions NATO cohesion will be isolated within the community. <…> If both countries themselves want [вступить в НАТО], then Finland and Sweden are part of it, there are no questions. There is no reason to slow it down or block it.”
However experts believethat so far this is just talk, since it is absolutely impossible to ignore such an important partner in NATO, with its 2nd army in the bloc and its unique position. Washington and Brussels are well aware of this, and they also understand that they will have to bargain with Erdogan, writes BB.LV.
