Erdogan continues pre-election haggling and opens new fronts – Why he is convening the Security Council

The partial and – in any case – temporary re-evaluation of the US strategy towards Turkey has worried Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is going through a difficult pre-election period and sees that the attempted haggling “give me the F-16s and then I will give you give my consent to Sweden joining NATO”, he did not catch on.

The US, and not only Senator Menendez, who, through MEGA, blasted Erdogan’s aggressive policy once again, made clear their intention not to give – at least before the elections to the neighbor – the much-desired commitment to the F- 16, with Ankara maintaining the climate of tension with Greece, and indefinitely suspending the talks on the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden.

The Turkish Security Council

Against this background, Erdogan will preside today at the Security Council of Turkey, which he convened extraordinarily and which, according to a leak through state-run Turkish Anatolia agency, will have the armaments of Greece and the situation in the Aegean on its agenda.

Both the armament program of Greece and the cooperation with the USA, through the “facilities” provided at a series of bases across Greece to the American forces, through the mutual defense cooperation agreement of the two countries, has been repeatedly targeted by Turkish officials , and Erdogan.

The Turkish president, seeing that Greece is succeeding and upgrading its equipment inventory, havimg bought the Rafale and is contemplating the purchase of the F-35. And so Erdogan rattles his saber raising the tone of inflammatory rhetoric, threatening an assault on Greece, with the Greek Prime Minister replying: “Those who boast that they might come suddenly one night, should know that they themselves might wake up one night and land in harsh reality. And then learn that the more they raise their voices, the more they will actually reduce their credibility. And that each of their “assaults” can become a disorderly retreat in front of the triangle of International Law, our vigilant Armed Forces and our strong alliances”.

As reported by Turkish media, “it is estimated that the armament programs of Greece will be examined as well as provocations by Greece in the Aegean, which continues to arm demilitarized islands”.

“In this context, the meeting will also evaluate the developments in the Aegean, Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, the Balkans and it is planned to discuss the efforts to protect the rights of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the Eastern Mediterranean arising from international law”.

The question of Sweden on the agenda

At the top of the agenda is the issue of Sweden, as Ankara takes its anger over the burning of the Koran in Stockholm to extremes. Turkey has indefinitely postponed tripartite talks with Sweden-Finland on their accession to NATO, in a move that brings it into direct conflict with the West.

The impasse had been hinted at early on by the President of Finland, estimating that any development in the matter would come after the Turkish elections. Likewise the Minister of Foreign Affairs who spoke about the need for a break. But he backed down on NATO enlargement only with his country, if necessary.

New front ahead of elections

At the same time, Turkey opens a new front, this time with the Netherlands. Ankara summoned the country’s ambassador for an explanation, after a demonstration in The Hague where a far-right follower of the PEGINDA movement, as it turned out, tore up the Koran on camera.

The intensity and speed with which the Koran incidents in Holland and Sweden were reported is indicative of the intention to create a new “West vs. Turkey” front in order to serve pre-election communication tactics.

Another issue that will concern the Security Council of Turkey, meeting will be the first official contact with Syria after 12 years and the  “Claw” operations and the steps that will be followed until there is a contact at the level of leaders.

It will also discuss what will be done in the fight against terrorism and the operations against the PKK in particular, but also the measures taken against Fethullah Gülen’s organization (FETO) and the Islamic State (DAESH), but also the developments in Ukraine and developments on the grain corridor, Turkey’s peace and mediation efforts, humanitarian aid and a permanent ceasefire.

The Menendez-Tsounis messages

The F-16 issue will also be discussed at the Turkish Security Council, with US senator Robert Menendez having sent a resounding message to Erdogan, making it clear that he will not approve the sale of F-16s to Turkey because of its aggression towards Greece. Robert Menendez, moreover, does not hesitate to decry the equal distance policy of the State Department and NATO in Greek-Turkish.

“Greece does not overfly Turkish airspace. Greece does not invade Turkish territorial waters. Greece does not threaten Turkey’s sovereignty and security. So it is wrong to call both sides on this when only one side is aggressive, and that needs to change. This is an effort that we continue to make in order to get the State Department and the American administration to change course,” Menendez noted.

Menendez does not believe that Erdogan will carry out his threats, noting that after the renewed MDCA, “now it is not only the Greek interests that are affected but the interests of the USA could also be affected”, while he also calls his secretary general NATO to open a discussion on what would happen if a NATO member country attacked another member of the Alliance. Making it clear that Washington should be on the side being attacked.

George Tsounis: “Only stability is acceptable”

Speaking on the subject, on MEGA channel, the United States ambassador to Greece, George Tsounis, emphasized that for President Biden, peace and stability in the region is the only acceptable direction.

Although he insisted on calling on both sides to refrain from “any action and any situation that could lead to an accident”, the US ambassador emphasized that “President Biden knows the region”, he knows Erdogan, but the same moment he understands and loves Greece. “America has a huge interest and the US will work towards peace and stability in the region. Anything else is not acceptable. Full stop” says Tsounis.