Eurasia Press & News
As Western capitals try to compartmentalize problems in a bid to separately tackle Ankara’s veto threat over Finnish and Swedish NATO bids and prevent a potential Turkish military operation against their Syrian Kurdish allies, Turkey is pushing for an “all-in bargain” on several fronts. This includes demanding a free hand from Russian and US interference in Ankara’s plans in Syria, a lifting of arms embargoes against the country, and extradition of several intellectuals and activists from Sweden and Finland.
The images of Western leaders flanked by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, praising Ankara for its support of Kyiv, emerged less than a few months ago, but they already feel like a distant memory.
Following Finland, Sweden and Greece, it was Germany’s turn to brace Turkey’s wrath this week. The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of joining a “smear campaign” against Turkey, “condemning” him for urging Turkey to “exercise restraint” over tensions with Greece, whose premier was “written off” by Erdogan last week for lobbying the US Congress against military sales to Turkey.
Erdogan made sure to fan the flames of tensions with Greece and others this week. He announced that his country would halt exploratory talks with Greece that were introduced after a major escalation last year over decades-old territorial disputes between the two countries.
He also said that the talks with Sweden and Finland have “so far” failed to produce “concrete” assurances that would address Turkey’s “security concerns.”
“We hope that these two countries and those who are vigorously working for their accession will understand Turkey’s security sensitivities and do what is necessary,” Erdogan told his parliamentary group on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, for his part, suggested Finland and Sweden “must change their laws” if that’s what is necessary to address his country’s concerns. Ankara demands both countries halt their support for groups that Turkey considers terrorist organizations and allow for the extradition of several dissidents living in those countries. It also asks that restrictions on military sales to Turkey be lifted.
Ankara has also doubled down on its threat of a fresh offensive in Syria. Reiterating his threats for a new military operation, Erdogan said Turkey would clear the northern Syrian towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij of terrorists, announcing specific potential targets for the first time, as Nazlan Ertan reported.
Ankara’s threats against the Syrian Kurdish groups allied with the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State not only concern the West. Russia also seems reluctant. “We hope that Ankara will refrain from actions that could lead to a dangerous deterioration of the already difficult situation in Syria,” Russian Foreign Ministry’s Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
Although Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks in late May seem to be justifying Turkey’s security concerns in Syria, “Russian moves on the ground paint a different picture,” Fehim Tastekin opined, listing the “stumbling blocks facing Turkey’s new operation plan in Syria.”
The issue is expected to be discussed during Lavrov’s forthcoming Turkey visit next week. Ankara considers the People’s Protection Units (YPG) a terrorist organization and equates it with the outlawed Kurdish armed outfit fighting for self-rule inside Turkey for some four decades. The YPG is the backbone of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a major ally of the US-led international coalition in the fight against the Islamic State.
Meanwhile, Ankara’s Western allies are seeking to keep apples and oranges separate.
The US administration considers potential fighter jet sales to Turkey “separate” from Ankara’s demands over Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week, as Al-Monitor reported.
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also stressed Wednesday that her country would continue to engage Turkey “directly” to “sort out any issues and misunderstandings.”
The “crisis mode” has also rekindled a debate over whether Turkey really belongs to NATO. For newcomers to the debate, it might be worth mentioning that “geopolitics” has so far prevailed in this recurring debate and that Turkey has the stronger hand.
Dice are still rolling on the international policy front and whether Ankara’s brinkmanship on Syria and NATO would pay off remains unknown, but on the domestic front one thing becomes clearer: Turkey will turn into an even more challenging place for opposition parties, Erdogan critics and journalists as the elections scheduled for June 2023 near.
Just today, Turkish police detained at least 40 members of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Turkish media reported. Erdogan’s ruling party and their nationalist allies are working on a draft law that will further crackdown on social media.
On Tuesday, more than 150 demonstrators who took to the streets in Istanbul to mark the anniversary of the 2013 Gezi protests were detained by the Turkish police. The 2013 protests started as an environmental demonstration in Istanbul and morphed into nationwide anti-government protests against the Turkish government’s increasing interference in the secular lifestyle.
Erdogan’s critics argue that the judiciary has also become a political tool to “clamp down on political dissent,” as Andrew Wilks reported.
“It’s been a busy week for lawyers representing Turkish opposition politicians,” Wilks observed, with Nazlan Ertan reporting that Turkey’s women’s rights groups are also in the crosshairs.
“One can expect that the HDP will be closed and the crackdown on other opposition parties will be intensified,” Brussel-based human rights lawyer Ali Yildiz told Wilks.
As skyrocketing inflation diminishes his electoral fortunes, Erdogan seems to be poised to resort to the most accustomed page of his political playbook: seeking to consolidate his support base through demonizing his opponents. In fresh additions to his ever-expanding vernacular against his opponents and critics, Erdogan this week slammed the Gezi demonstrators as “rotten” and “thugs.”
In lighter news this week, the United Nations accepted Turkey’s official application to change the country’s name from Turkey to Türkiye. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told Turkey’s official Anadolu News Agency that the country’s name change “became effective” from the moment an application letter by Cavusoglu was received.
