Putin's Trojan Horse in NATO: Erdogan caught in the crossfire

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was cornered by NATO allies. According to Turkish publications, he seems to have agreed on the conditions for Sweden and Finland to join the alliance.

Helsinki promised Ankara to impose some restrictions on the activities of Kurdish organisations. In response, Turkey announced that at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June, it would vote for Finland's accession to the alliance, separately from Sweden, because Finland at one time "helped" Ankara to apply for EU membership.

As for Stockholm, a source close to the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the following: "If Sweden is serious about its intentions, it should publish a white paper or something about joining NATO - have an honest conversation about what it can and cannot do for NATO."

This is the first thing. Secondly, it seems that the United States promised Turkey to lift some of the sanctions they imposed in connection with the purchase of Russian S-400 missiles. However, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, during a visit to Washington, urged the Americans not to sell the F-16 to the Turks.

Erdogan was indignant: "We talked with the United States, we agreed that third countries should not be involved in our negotiations. After that, there is no one named Mitsotakis for me anymore. In any case, the United States will not make decisions with an eye to his statement."

Similarly, Ankara demands that other NATO member countries lift their official and unofficial sanctions against the Turkish military-industrial complex.

At the same time, the list of Turkey's demands is increasing. It insists that the position of the NATO and EU countries should also change on the Syrian conflict, and not only on the spectrum of the Kurdish issue. It is at this point that Turkish exactingness focuses more on Sweden.

According to Al-Monitor, Ankara raises the issue in the following plane: "According to Article 5, allies must protect each other's borders. Turkish troops regularly conduct exercises and patrols in the Baltic region together with NATO allies. Will the Swedish Air Force patrol our southern borders, flying over the positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party? If not, then maybe we shouldn't become allies?"

At the same time, other Turkish experts believe that Ankara's criticism of the Syrian policy of the United States and Europe "is justified, but weak”, because Russia is not in full solidarity with Turkey on Syria, "however, this does not undermine Ankara's relations with Moscow”.

Erdogan is being accused of being put in place as "Putin's Trojan horse in NATO." One professor of Istanbul University, who wished to remain anonymous, concludes: "If we do not get anything from the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, then Turkish diplomats will have to engage in horse trading in the bazaar."

And more. In recent analysis for the European Council on Foreign Relations , Turkish expert Asli Aydintasbas noted: "Turkey is most concerned about the conflict between Russia and NATO, which arose as a result of the crisis in Ukraine." According to him, Ankara "does not want to be caught in the crossfire."

So can Turkey make a profitable deal on Sweden and Finland's membership in NATO? The question remains open. At least for now.

Elena Panina, Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute