Erdogan's sudden outburst of threats to use veto power in NATO has embarrassed the United States. A few days ago, the President and Prime Minister of Finland issued a joint statement announcing that the country would "apply for NATO membership without delay." Finland's move is supported by the vast majority of Western NATO members. France and Germany have successively expressed their support for Finland's application to join NATO. The United States then came out to join in the fun, waving the flag in support of Finland's accession to NATO.
However, Finland's application to NATO seems to be unimpeded, but this does not mean that the country will eventually become a full member of NATO. Sure enough, just when the rhetoric about NATO expansion was raging, halfway through, a cheng biting gold.
According to overseas network reports, Turkish President Erdogan said on the 13th local time that Ankara does not support the application of Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just announced in a televised speech that Turkey opposes Sweden and Finland joining NATO. The reason is that both countries support terrorism.
Erdogan's explanation is that Ankara has held this position before and will not change now, because Finland and Sweden support PKK militants and are also used by Greece against Turkey. Erdogan also warned that Turkey, as a full member of NATO, decided to use a veto on both countries.
Erdogan said about Finland and Sweden's intention to join NATO, saying: "We are closely following the developments in Sweden and Finland [joining NATO], but we are not in favor of this matter." ”
Erdogan explained that Turkey's opposition was due to the fact that Sweden and Finland have long supported the PKK's militants. Turkey considers the Kurdish armed forces to be terrorist groups. Erdogan also used the example of Greece's use of NATO against Turkey over the years, claiming that Turkey does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Obviously, Erdogan's statement is equivalent to closing the doors of NATO to Finland and Sweden. After all, NATO, like the EUROPEAN Union, must have the consent of all its members when it comes to recruiting new members. But as long as one member does not agree, Sweden or Finland will not want to become a member of NATO. Therefore, no matter how many NATO countries support the above two countries, Turkey is likely to cause their attempts to join NATO to fail.
Turkey's attempt at this sensitive moment to prevent Sweden and Finland from joining NATO is the result of the division within NATO, in addition to the above problems. Turkey is known to have become isolated within NATO because of its fight against Kurdish armed forces, the sovereignty dispute with Greece in the Central Mediterranean, and its military involvement in the Libyan civil war.
Given that Finland and Sweden stand on these issues, they are on the opposite side of Turkey. Especially on the issue of the Turkish-Greek sea rights dispute, the two countries wear the same pair of pants as Greece. In this context, if Turkey does not block the application of these two countries to join NATO, it is equivalent to adding two opponents to itself within NATO. In this regard, Turkey must also do its best to prevent the above two countries from joining NATO.
At a sensitive time when the Conflict between Russia and Ukraine is intensifying, once Finland successfully joins NATO, it is tantamount to touching Russia's bottom line against NATO expansion. Judging from Russia's tough posture toward the West at present, Moscow, which has already nestled a fire on the Ukraine issue, will certainly take some necessary countermeasures to deal with it. If not done well, a conflict between NATO and Russia cannot be avoided. Therefore, in order to avoid being caught up in the dangerous vortex of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Turkey is an inevitable choice to prevent Sweden and Finland from joining NATO.
In recent years, Turkey has become a nightmare for the United States. The country is at odds with NATO's Western members on many issues. Even diplomatic disputes with Western countries such as France, Germany and Greece, and disputes over Syrian refugees and maritime rights in the eastern Mediterranean, have not only often embarrassed the United States, the NATO boss, but also caused the main inducement within NATO.
Especially in the fight against Russia, Ankara has been dragging NATO hinds. The country has not only resisted pressure from NATO, but also insisted on completing the anti-aircraft missile deal with Russia. Not long ago, the United States asked Turkey to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia and provide it to the Ukrainian army to deal with Russian warplanes, but it was categorically rejected by the other side, which made the United States lose face.
The Purpose of the United States' support for Finland and Sweden's application to join NATO is to squeeze Russia's geopolitical living space through nato's further eastward expansion. However, Turkey's open opposition to the issue has led the United States to watch Sweden and Finland continue to be shut out by NATO. Of course, if the United States had the guts to kick Turkey out of NATO, it wouldn't be so much trouble. But the question is: Does the United States dare?