- Erdogan voices firm opposition before talks on Sweden,
- Finland Turkish president calls Sweden 'nesting ground' for terrorists
At a press conference in Ankara late Monday, Erdogan poured cold water on expectations that Turkish opposition to the enlargement plan could be easily resolved. The remarks were his clearest indication that he intends to block membership for the two countries, or at least extract concessions for it, since they announced their intentions to join over the weekend.
"These two countries lack a clear stance against terrorism" and "Sweden is a nesting ground for terrorist organizations,"Erdogan said. He also said that Turkey wouldn't allow countries that impose "sanctions" on Turkey to join NATO, an apparent reference to restrictions on weapons sales imposed by several European nations.
At the heart of the matter is Erdogan's deep resentment against NATO allies for what he sees as their refusal to take seriously Ankara's concerns about Kurdish militants operating inside Turkey and across its borders in Syria and Iraq. Turkey wants its perception of the threat to be acknowledged by all NATO members, and says risk priorities should be harmonized across the alliance.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said Tuesday that Erdogan is using the situation as a negotiating ploy to try to extract concessions, including in the country's efforts to buy F-35 fighter jets from the US.
"This bazaar mentality is present in Turkey and also in its chief, in Erdogan, we know that," Asselborn said on Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio. "I think he's just pushing up the price, but at the end of the day I'm convinced that Turkey can't put the brakes on this."The Pentagon ousted Turkey from the program to buy -- and help build -- Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 in July 2019, after Erdogan's government purchased the Russian-made S-400 missile system.
In September, Turkey sent a formal request to the US to buy 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft and nearly 80 kits from Lockheed Martin to modernize its existing fighters. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu plans to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday and discuss the issue, with any deal potentially worth as much as $6 billion.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had said he expected to work through the last-minute wrinkle to the enlargement plan. But that looks unlikely to happen immediately, with Erdogan saying Monday that officials from Sweden and Finland planning to visit Ankara for talks shouldn't even bother coming.
Biden/NATO are losing badly in Ukraine and are desperate for "we're winning" headlines.
Turkey borders Syria, Iraq and Iran with Russia a stones throw away...Turkey has tremendous leverage...they could leave, or be thrown out, of NATO and partner with 4 countries the USA has spent trillions/decades trying to subjugate.
If out of NATO, Turkey could/should/would abandon the Dollar (default on its Western debts) and join the new Russia/China led economic/political order.
It would be a huge foreign policy disaster if Turkey exited NATO; we should fully expect Biden to force Turkey's exit from NATO...
Constantinople is 100 times more strategically important in the Empire's Game of Thrones than Scandinavia. This is going to be one expensive bribe.
You got to love Erdogan. Both Finland and Sweden has been backing the Kurds and now he wants both to declare them a terrorists organization in public denouncing them and stop funding embarrassing both countries leaders. In addition he will get to keep his S-400s and any other weapons he wants to buy plus also buy F-35s plus any parts forever.
Guess what? He will get wants he wants as the war against Russia has gone horribly wrong and they need to save facet by claiming two new members in NATO which will cost both of them considerably. The leaders of both countries will be told to suck it up, go public and kiss Erdogan *** for the good of NATO.
Talk about a joke of what western leaders has become. No wonder Europe is forecast to go BANG this year. Biden also will force Russia to default on its bonds owed to US and western investors which they will be forced to sue Biden and the WH. This is what you call the "exceptional nation".