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Turkey's Erdogan once again expressed opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO.

But based on comments from him and other officials, Turkey may just be looking for concessions.

Turkey wants the countries to extradite suspected Kurdish militants and end limits on arms sales.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Monday that he would not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO, once again accusing the Scandinavian countries of supporting terrorists. The Turkish leader also said Ankara couldn't back the NATO aspirations of countries that impose sanctions against Turkey.

Erdogan said that delegations from Helsinki and Stockholm shouldn't bother coming to Ankara to persuade Turkey to change its position, which came after reports that the Swedish and Finnish foreign minister's would "soon" travel to the Turkish capital to discuss the matter.

"We will not say 'yes,'" to Finland and Sweden's NATO applications, Erdogan said on Monday, per The Guardian. Erdogan said that neither country has "a clear, open attitude towards terrorist organisations." He asked: "How can we trust them?"

Finland announced its intention to formally apply for NATO on Sunday, and Sweden quickly followed. Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine catalyzed this historic, rapid shift in policy for both countries, which have been militarily non-aligned for decades. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the two would be welcomed into the alliance with open arms.

But NATO enlargement requires unanimous support from current members, and Erdogan is seemingly trying to leverage Turkey's vote in order to gain concessions from the two countries regarding Kurdish militants Ankara views as terrorists as well as arms export embargoes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, May 25, 2017.Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ankara has repeatedly taken issue with Western governments like Sweden over their support for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The dominant fighting force in the SDF, which has been the West's main partner in the fight against ISIS, is the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist organization, associating it with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a militant, separatist group that has waged a violent campaign against the Turkish government since the mid-1980s as part of an effort to establish an independent Kurdish state.

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The YPG has denied having any explicit organizational links with the PKK, but Turkey effectively views them as one in the same. The US also views the PKK as a terror group, but it hasn't taken the same stance toward the YPG and has worked closely with the SDF in the campaign against ISIS. Turkey has also rebuked the US over its support for the SDF.

This complex backdrop helps explain why Erdogan on Friday said he did not view Finland and Sweden's NATO aspirations positively and accused them of harboring terrorist organizations.

Over the weekend, Turkey's top diplomat appeared to signal that there was room for negotiation on the issue, laying out Ankara's demands in this regard.

"There absolutely needs to be security guarantees here. They need to stop supporting terrorist organizations," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Berlin, per Reuters. The Turkish government has demanded that Finland and Sweden extradite suspected members of Kurdish militant groups like the PKK, while also calling for the two countries to lift restrictions on arms exports to Turkey that were imposed over military actions in Syria in 2019.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesperson for Erdogan, on Saturday told Reuters that Turkey was "not closing the door" on Finland and Sweden's NATO bids. "But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security for Turkey," Kalin added.

Erdogan is running for re-election next year, and could be trying to score political points domestically by tying this issue to Turkey's issues with Kurdish militant groups.

"Erdogan decided to make this very public and announce Turkey's position, with a view also to obtain support domestically," Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat, told the Wall Street Journal, adding, "This is how he operates. He always has an eye to domestic politics."

Stoltenberg, the NATO chief, on Sunday said he did not believe it was Turkey's intention to prevent Sweden and Finland from joining the alliance. "Turkey has made it clear: Their intention is not to block membership," Stoltenberg told reporters Sunday, the Washington Post reported. "Therefore, I am confident we'll be able to address the concerns that Turkey has expressed in a way that doesn't delay the accession process."

But Erdogan's comments on Monday threw more uncertainty into the process. Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, offered remarks on the latest moves that stood in stark contrast with Moscow's generally hardline stance and threats against NATO expansion.

"Russia has no problem with these states none," Putin said to the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russia-led military alliance. "And so in this sense there is no immediate threat to Russia from an expansion of NATO to include these countries," he added, according to Reuters.

Previously, Russia threatened military retaliation if Finland and Sweden joined NATO. That said, Putin on Monday added that "the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response."

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Turkey's Erdogan hints he'll hold Finland and Sweden's NATO bids ...

Every member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has enthusiastically welcomed Finland and Sweden except one: Turkey, which on Wednesday blocked an early vote to begin accession talks. For reasons that are political, parochial and irrelevant to the decision, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a hard line in his efforts to derail the prospective members. This should raise the question of whether Turkey under Mr. Erdogans leadership belongs in the alliance.

Similarly, NATO members have shown steadfast resolve since Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, except for Turkey. With the exception of permitting the sale of combat drones to Ukrainea deal between Kyiv and private defense manufacturer Baykar Makina that was signed before the warAnkara has offered little more than noisy diplomacy. Mr. Erdogan has tried to position himself as a broker of peace between Ukraine and Russia, mirroring his previous and similarly ineffectual offer to negotiate with the Taliban during Americas withdrawal last year.

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Does Erdogans Turkey Belong in NATO? - WSJ

On Tuesday, an opinion piece was published on CNN, stating that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan are both allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The author suggests, therefore, that Hungary and Turkey should be made irrelevant.

The article calls Orbn Putins closest ally in the European Union, mentioning that he has threatened to veto proposed sanctions on Russian oil that the other 26 member states have approved. Drawing parallels between the EU and NATO, the article continues: Similarly in NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan isnot looking favorably at the possible accession of historically neutral powers Finland and Sweden, and on which the rest of the alliance is supportive of them joining.

CNN writes that thanks to such allies:

The op-ed also mentioned European Commission President Ursula von der Leyens visit to Budapest, on which we have also reported. It says that von der Leyen could report only that shed succeeded in clarify[ing] issues with the Hungarian strongman.

Related article

"We made progress, but further work is needed," Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated in a Twitter post.Continue reading

The article says that the solution to these toxic delays being forced by Hungary and Turkey is to do crave-outs:

Whats the worst Hungary or Turkey could do sue? Pull out?

Harvard Professor Robert I. Rotberg seems to agree with the idea: You are absolutely right to urge the EU to just forge ahead without Hungary. The unanimity rule was foolish to begin with and now is the time to test it. He adds, however, that Hungary could refer the decision to the European Court of Justice which is both bad and good.

As Index reports, another reading of the oil embargo issue is that Brussels made the decision on the embargo hastily, without due preparation, and neglecting practical economic considerations, which proved that the vetos control of Brussels decision-making by member states was justified. (A former MEP wrote an opinion piece on this on Index).

CNN also mentions the creation of an International Anti-Corruption Court. Rotberg believes that this would be a good place to try Erdoan, Orbn, Putin, and many more. That is why it is needed. So, we are moving. Such a court is being actively pursued by Rotberg together with a group consisting of some 40 former heads of state and an equal number of Nobel Prize winners, CNN writes. The article also mentions that Putin has been playing on the concept of unanimity for years.

Related article

The European Commission's 44-page notification letter mostly lists cases of suspected corruption in public procurements, explaining why they violate the EU budget and the rule of law.Continue reading

Now is the time for democracies to dig in their heels and proclaim that enough is enough that right will be forced to triumph. In the end, we will all be stronger for it, the article concludes.

The CNN op-ed was written by David A. Andelman, a veteran foreign correspondent, author, and commentator who contributes frequently to CNN Opinion on global affairs. To read the full article, click here.

Featured image via Zsolt Szigetvry/MTI

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CNN: Erdoan and Orbn Are Putin's Allies, They Have to Be Made "Irrelevant" - Hungary Today

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett may soon visit Turkey, as Jerusalem and Ankara move to improve ties following years of acrimony.

Erdogan declared that a visit by Bennett could lead toward a new process in bilateral relations between the countries, according to the official Anadolu news agency.

He also said cooperation on natural gas could play a key role in furthering diplomatic ties.

Shortly after Erdogan spoke, however, an Israeli source cited by several Hebrew media outlets said no trip was currently planned.

Bennett has spoken by phone with Erdogan but has not met in person with the longtime Turkish leader since becoming premier last June.

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Erdogans remarks Friday came after he hosted President Isaac Herzog in Ankara earlier this month, the highest-level visit by an Israeli official since former premier Ehud Olmert went to Turkey in 2008.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a media conference after an extraordinary NATO summit at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The Turkish president said at the time that this historic visit will be a turning point in relations between Turkey and Israel, while Herzog hailed the trip as a very important moment in relations between our countries.

Herzog later said despite the mutual interest in rekindling ties, the process was being carried out under no illusions, but reflects bilateral interests.

Turkey and Israel once were close allies, but the relationship frayed under Erdogan, who is an outspoken critic of Israels policies toward the Palestinians. Israel also has been angered by Erdogans embrace of the Hamas terror group.

The countries withdrew their respective ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Palestinians that broke an Israeli blockade. The incident resulted in the deaths of 10 Turkish activists.

Israels President Isaac Herzog speaks to the media during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, March 9, 2022. (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)

Relations improved and then broke down again in 2018 when Turkey, angered by the US moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, once more recalled its ambassador, prompting Israel to respond in kind. The two countries have not restored their ambassadors.

The steps toward a rapprochement with Israel come as Turkey, beset by economic troubles, has been trying to end its international isolation by normalizing ties with several countries in the Mideast region, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

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Erdogan claims Bennett may soon visit Turkey; Israel said to deny it - The Times of Israel

With inflation at a 20-year high, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned to foreign policy to help pull his economy out of a tailspin. Erdogan has been reaching out to ideological foes in the Middle East in the hopes that their investments can revive a plummeting lira, reduce unemployment, and ultimately ensure his return to power in Turkeys 2023 elections.

Over the last few months Ankara has eased ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and most prominently, the United Arab Emirates. He was welcomed in the Emirates in mid-February with all the pomp reserved for close friends. Burj Khalifa in Dubai was lit in the colors of the Turkish flag with hos geldiniz (Turkish for welcome) projected on it. During his visit, 13 agreements, including on military and security issues, were signed. It was a surprisingly warm reception for the leader of a nation that, until recently, had been accused by the host government of pursuing hostile policies.

Turkey and the UAE backed opposing sides in various recent crises and conflicts in the Middle East, with each eying to further its ideology and influence. They were engaged in a ferocious proxy battle as Turkey backed political Islamists to the hilt and the UAE was determined to discredit and destroy them.

With inflation at a 20-year high, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has turned to foreign policy to help pull his economy out of a tailspin. Erdogan has been reaching out to ideological foes in the Middle East in the hopes that their investments can revive a plummeting lira, reduce unemployment, and ultimately ensure his return to power in Turkeys 2023 elections.

Over the last few months Ankara has eased ties with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and most prominently, the United Arab Emirates. He was welcomed in the Emirates in mid-February with all the pomp reserved for close friends. Burj Khalifa in Dubai was lit in the colors of the Turkish flag with hos geldiniz (Turkish for welcome) projected on it. During his visit, 13 agreements, including on military and security issues, were signed. It was a surprisingly warm reception for the leader of a nation that, until recently, had been accused by the host government of pursuing hostile policies.

Turkey and the UAE backed opposing sides in various recent crises and conflicts in the Middle East, with each eying to further its ideology and influence. They were engaged in a ferocious proxy battle as Turkey backed political Islamists to the hilt and the UAE was determined to discredit and destroy them.

Erdogans support for the Muslim Brotherhood and affiliated Islamists in various Arab uprisings stems from his ideological convictions and his general desire to expand Turkeys influence across the Middle East. His opponents often said he harbored fantasies of returning Turkey to its former role as regional hegemon during the Ottoman sultanate.

Turkeys allied Islamists, however, threatened not just dictators but also the monarchs of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. To undo their rise, the UAE supported Egyptian field marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against the Muslim Brotherhoods Mohamed Morsi; backed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar against Turkey; supported political Islamists in Tripoli, Libya; and softened its stand toward Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib, Syria. Last week, the UAE became the first Arab country to officially host Assad since the onset of Syrian uprising.

Turkeys recent rapprochements are a quiet admission of the decline of political Islamism and an acknowledgement of its own regional limits. After a decade of trying to reshape the Middle East,both Turkey and the UAE can claim victories in their rivalry. (Turkey succeeded in securing a rebel-held enclave in Idlib that works as a de factobuffer between Turkey andSyrian Kurds, who it sees as a threat to Turkish security. Turkey also dug in its heels in Libya and intervened militarily to prevent Haftars military victory.) Both sides are now ready to take a new look at their relationship. The UAE is mostly motivated by its desire to build regional cooperation to oppose Iran and diversify its largely fossil fuel-based economy.

Erdogan is essentially motivated by economic concerns. Aykan Erdemir, aformer member of the Turkish parliament and senior director of the Turkey program at the Foundationfor Defense of Democraciesa Washington-based research institutesaid for Erdogan, the shift in policy is primarily aimed at winning the next election.Erdogan hoped that a detente with the UAE would attract Emirati as well as other foreign capital to Turkey in the runup to the countrys presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for 2023, Erdemir said.

The Turkish lira has lost nearly half of its value while inflation jumped to 54 percent in February and unemployment rose to a staggering 11.2 percent in late 2021. Public anger has been growing, and Erdogan desperately needs to assuage a burgeoning youth population across the ideological aisles before he goes to the polls. To replenish state coffers, he needs urgent investments, for which he requires sheikhs with deep pockets. Following his visit to Turkey late last year, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pledged $10 billion in investments and a nearly $5 billion swap deal in local currencies to bolster Turkeys dwindling foreign currency.

Despite antagonism between Turkey and several Persian Gulf monarchies, the region contributed 7 percent of foreign direct investment in Turkey compared to 8 percent by the much bigger U.S. economy. At a time when the Turkish economy is in turmoil, the shift in policy made sense. But for Erdogan, the distance between rivalry and regional cooperation was determined by the need for self-preservation. However, the UAEs policy is mainly driven by political imperatives. Abu Dhabi, threatened by the growing Iranian hegemony in the region, saw detente with Turkey as a cost-effective way to build a counterweight to Tehran, Erdemir said.

An improvement in ties will allow both nations to put hostilities on the back burner and address more important issues, including the debilitating economic cost inflicted by the pandemic. This will allow both leaders to focus their energies and resources on more immediate challenges, Erdemir said. But he added that cordial relations between Turkey and the UAE will lower tensions in various theaters where the two nations are locked in bitter proxy strugglesalthough only in the short term.

However, stronger economic ties will not translate into resolutions for any of the regional conflicts. They might only encourage more restraint and avoid escalation. It doesnt end all of the rivalries that still exist in places like Syria, Egypt, and Libya, but it means that Turkey is signaling its going to be more pragmatic, said Ryan Bohl, a Middle East and Africa analyst at Rane, a risk intelligence firm.

Rapprochement certainly does not mean an end to the old conflict between political Islamists and monarchs or that Erdogan has abandoned his ideology. To the contrary, he has continued to fund the spread of political Islam through the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi, (TDV), a public foundation with a yearly budget of 1 billion Turkish liras. The TDV is tasked with building mosques and religious schools in foreign countries with the aim of promoting political Islam. It has reportedly been active in nearly 150 countries and has more than a thousand branches inside Turkey. In 2020, it funded more than 8,000 students and various organizations in many countries under various programs.

On one hand, Erdogan has signed up for peace with its adversary, but on the other, he is carrying on with his project of spreading political Islam and creating the next generation of political Islamists to challenge regional monarchies.

Erdemir added that Erdogans efforts to promote political Islam globally through the Directorate of Religious Affairs and Turkeys various state and quasi-state aid agencies will continue. If he emerges victorious from the 2023 elections, it is likely that he will return to pursuing an agenda shaped by political Islam, Erdemir said.

Bohl said that the core reasons for political Islams success in the Middle East remain in place. With the collapse of democracy in Tunisia, the region is back to authoritarian leaders who rely on corruption and rentier approaches to govern, Bohl said. That will still drive disenchantment. People will want an alternative to these dictatorships.

A slew of social reforms undertaken in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are intended to tackle some of that disenchantment while investments in Turkey are a tool to create economic interdependence. The hope is that creating more constituencies with an interest in strong mutual ties will make it harder for Erdogan to adopt outright hostile policies in the future. In that way, the monarchs hope to earn some leverage over Turkeys decision-making.Whether that will work in the long term is another question entirely.

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Erdogan's Islamist War With UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Other Arab Monarchies Is Over - Foreign Policy