Bloomberg: This political gift comes once to Erdogan

As the war that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 continues, the international community continues to discuss the process of Swedish and Finnish membership in NATO. A remarkable analysis was published in Bloomberg, one of the main US media outlets, while other NATO members gave their approval, except for Turkey and Hungary, who were convinced after both countries objected to the process of membership at first.

In Bloomberg’s in-depth analysis, the headline “Turkish President Erdogan Keeps Entire World Intrigued About NATO Enlargement” is used, while “Turkey is still waiting for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Ankara has made a statement that it will not approve memberships before the elections.

“COME ONCE IN A LIFETIME”

In the article, a separate paragraph was opened for President Erdoğan. The paragraph titled “Erdogan’s Influence” read: “His decision on Finland and Sweden is a once-in-a-lifetime political gift to Erdogan, whose terrorist concerns have gone unheeded by his allies for years.”

In the article that Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said last week, “Erdogan was dissatisfied with some NATO member countries and will use the membership of Sweden and Finland to turn this situation in his favor,” the article said, “The pressure Erdogan on his demands will take another five years and make him appear strong in front of his voters in a period in which he intends to stay.”

AUTHORIZED TALK IN TURKISH

On the other hand, it was stated that some NATO diplomats thought positively about this process and said: “Diplomats are hopeful that this problem will be resolved eventually. Probably after the elections in Turkey”, came the comment. On the other hand, a NATO diplomat also stated that a strong NATO would work to the benefit of Turkey, adding that the Black Sea and the Middle East are of critical importance.

In the analysis published in Bloomberg, “it is not surprising that Erdogan tries to seize this opportunity for as long as possible, but here is a dilemma: the US, the most powerful country in NATO, has supported the Nordic countries. He also uses the $20 billion sale of F-16s to Ankara to make the right decision. Speaking to Bloomberg, a senior Turkish official said: “The United States warned that Congress would not approve the sale of planes to Turkey until Ankara approves Swedish and Finnish NATO membership.”

“IF ERDOĞAN PROLONGS THE PROCESS…”

While it was noted that the Biden administration has yet to exert any pressure on this issue, it was noted that “This raises the question of if or when Erdogan will cave to pressure from Washington.”

On the other hand, it was pointed out that Erdogan’s extension of the NATO membership process may have some problems. “The longer Erdogan waits, the more NATO members will ask questions about how committed Erdogan is to NATO and the security of its allies, or whether he is working for Russia,” the analysis said.