Although Sweden’s pending NATO membership is a move in the right direction for enhanced stability in the Euro-Atlantic zone, President Erdogan’s perceived “triumph” in setting the terms of Swedish membership could have serious operational and strategic challenges for NATO in the future, writes Nima Khorrami.
This weekend’s meeting between the EU, Azerbaijan and Armenia is timely and important, as there are real risks that the humanitarian emergency in Nagorno-Karabakh may be a prelude to wider escalation in the southern Caucasus, writes Jane Kinninmont. As the Minsk Group of governments tasked with addressing the conflict appears to be barely active, the EU role will be critical.
Former Turkish ambassadors to NATO, Ahmet Üzümcü and Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, write that there is untapped potential for closer cooperation between Turkey and the United Kingdom in the defence and security fields.
Turkey’s resistance to Swedish and Finnish NATO membership is an outward sign of a more profound shift in Turkey’s geo-strategic position, writes Nick Williams. Fast becoming a “semi-detached ally”, NATO members are hoping that Turkey will return to a more moderate stance after the country’s May elections. If not, the consequences could be calamitous.
On 27 October 2022. the European Leadership Network (ELN) convened the Contact Group on Russia-West relations via Zoom to discuss Turkey’s positioning on the war in Ukraine and resulting foreign policy relations.
In some western circles, there has been a question mark over Turkey’s position on Russia’s war in Ukraine, writes Ambassador Tacan Ildem. Here he outlines the long history of Turkish-Russian relations, and how Turkey’s policy on Ukraine today is a balancing act informed by the geopolitics of the region.