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As the crucial EU Summit approaches, where sanctions on Turkey’s stance in the Eastern Mediterranean will be discussed, Ankara is dancing a tightrope. With pending issues on all fronts that have recently been opened under President Erdogan: Syria, Iraq, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Cyprus, Eastern Mediterranean, refugees, jihadists.
The Turkish army is fighting inside Syria, where the balances of successive agreements with Russia appear fragile again. Turkey’s action in northern Syria, which also contributes to the control of refugees in the region in general, as well as to the control of migratory flows within the country, weighs on the conscience of some EU countries and has great costs. . And not just financial. The gap in Ankara’s relations with Washington is now clear. The two countries are also in complete disagreement on the Kurdish issue in Syria. Turkish officials do not accidentally accuse the United States of supporting terrorists. But there is also no agreement with Russia, although joint patrols are carried out from time to time.
The S-400 and relations with Qatar
The S-400 is the icing on the cake. A further blow, perhaps expected, is the US defense budget bill for 2021, which states that the acquisition of the S-400s is a “significant transaction” and requires at least five of those to be imposed. sanctions, within 30 days after the date. his sign.
Meanwhile, the heavy fine and the ban on five broadcasts imposed by the Broadcasting Council on the Haber Turk channel with express procedures are causing a stir in Turkey. The reason is the inelegant attack by an official opposition deputy against the government, in a political program, who reported that the Turkish army has been sold to Qatar. The case generated a great controversy in parliament and in all the media not only because of the unfair leniency imposition of a ban, but also because of the substance of the parliamentary’s statement, for which the prosecution ordered an investigation.
The debate over Qatari investments in Turkey under Erdogan has always been and remains on the Republican Party’s agenda. However, it reached its peak with the acquisition of 10% of the Istanbul Stock Exchange by the Qatari investor. In Qatar, a large percentage of the Turkish army’s track factory had previously been sold, after intense discussions. In fact, the factory in question was to be upgraded to produce the first Turkish-made Altai tanks. The agreement provided for the delivery of the first tank in the spring of 2020. Something that has not yet been achieved.
The role of the team
The ensuing controversy made it widely known that the delay was due to Germany refusing to deliver the engines designed for the car to Turkey. For those who do not control weapons, this is a revelation of one aspect, which means an informal embargo on Turkey by Germany, which Turkey considers, according to Foreign Minister Tsavousoglu, the only credible mediator in the European Union.
It should be noted that in recent years, as President Erdogan claimed, Turkey has made leaps in the defense industry because its partners and allies in NATO did not supply it with the equipment it wanted. So he developed his own drones, which he now exports. He also gave them to Azerbaijan against Armenia, as well as Saraj against Haftar in Libya. But even there, this time the Canadian supplier of precision sensitive optical systems, necessary for the unmanned, stopped exporting to Turkey.
Where does Erdogan end up betting?
But as Turkey faces open or informal sanctions as it heads to the EU summit amid controversy over the imposition of fines and bans on major television networks like Hamber Turk, Tayyip Erdogan continues to attack Macron today. . In fact, he seems determined to continue his planning, ignoring the possible consequences should the EU decide to ice Ankara.
Are you playing everything for everything, risking the country’s already overloaded economy, which is being tested under the weight of the consequences of the coronavirus? Or are you betting on the certainty that the maximum expected sanctions that may come from the EU will be nothing more than those imposed for drilling in southern Cyprus?
Deutsche Welle: Andreas Robopoulos, Constantinople
Source: German wave
