So Is Turkey Finally Going To Let Sweden Into NATO? by Jen Kirby
July 8, 2023
Introduction:
(Voz) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pretty much the most popular guy in town these days — if that town is Vilnius, Lithuania, and if you’re popular because everyone has to be nice to you so you’ll let a really good friend join your military alliance.
Sweden, by the way, is that really good friend. And ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO)’s big summit next week, the Turkish leader has so far refused to drop his objections to Sweden joining NATO, potentially sidelining Stockholm’s membership indefinitely and spoiling NATO’s sought-after moment of unity and cohesion in Vilnius.
All NATO members must approve new ones, so Erdoğan’s opposition is effectively a veto. The Turkish president is not alone; Hungary’s Viktor Orbán is also holding out, but Hungary has signaled it won’t be the final roadblock. Erdoğan has continued to insist that Sweden has not done enough to crack down on people in Sweden with ties to Kurdish militants and other groups that Turkey has deemed terrorists.
Sweden has tried to appease Turkey, including passing a new anti-terrorism law that went into effect June 1. But Erdoğan’s definition of terrorists is pretty expansive, and often includes dissidents and others critical of his regime. And even if Turkey has a case, Sweden has to follow due process and rule of law and can’t just, say, extradite a bunch of people on a whim. A recent Quran-burning outside a Stockholm mosque has added to tensions, as Turkey interprets these as Sweden’s permissive attitude toward anti-Islamic protests rather than freedom of speech.
Sweden, alongside NATO allies, has been doing some furious diplomacy to try to persuade Turkey to approve Sweden’s bid. Swedish and Turkish officials talked Thursday, with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg saying they made “good progress” but issues remained unresolved.
Biden, U.S. leaders insist war with Russia must end before Ukraine joins NATO
Source: Washington Post
Ahead of this week’s NATO summit in Lithuania, U.S. leaders are insisting that the war with Russia must end before Ukraine is invited to join the powerful military alliance.
President Biden said during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that aired Sunday that he doesn’t believe there will be “unanimity” on the issue of Ukraine’s membership while the nation remains “in the middle of a war.”
“We’re determined to [protect] every inch of territory that is NATO territory,” Biden said, noting that if Ukraine were part of NATO, it would put the alliance at war with Russia.
Biden added that it was “premature” to call for a vote on Ukrainian membership because the country still has to meet some NATO qualifications. Biden said he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have spoken at length about the issue of membership, and said the two have laid out a “rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify.”
Romania To Host F-16 Pilot Training Center For NATO by Madalin Necsutu
July 10, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) Romania will host pilot training facilities for F-16 aircraft, including those from Ukraine, as part of a new transatlantic military project, according to the Romanian Supreme National Defence Council, CSAT.
The regional hub in Romania will cover the training requirements of allies and regional partners, making Romania a regional leader in F-16 pilot training.
“Together with other allies and the company that designs this fighter plane [Lockheed Martin], a regional hub will be created in Romania to train pilots who will fly these planes,” said the Bucharest Presidential Administration.
The new training centre will train Romanian pilots who operate F-16s, and the facility will later be opened to pilots from allied and NATO partner states, including Ukraine.
Several NATO countries have recently discussed the possibility of Romania being chosen as a location for training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. “Romania is one of the places the coalition is looking to host training,” a Western official told Politico in June.
ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said on Monday that the European Union should open the way for Turkey to join the bloc before Turkey allows Sweden to join NATO, adding a surprising new condition that could further stall the military alliance’s efforts to expand.
Mr. Erdogan’s latest demand came a day before the opening of NATO’s two-day annual summit, where leaders, including President Biden, had hoped to secure unanimous approval from member states to allow Sweden to become the 32nd member.
That outcome now appears increasingly unlikely, with Mr. Erdogan posing the main obstacle to Sweden’s membership.
“First, clear the way for Turkey in the European Union, then we will clear the way for Sweden as we did for Finland,” Mr. Erdogan told reporters before traveling to the NATO summit.
Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces amendment directing Biden to withdraw from Nato
Source: The Independent
Far-right Rep Majorie Taylor Greene has introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorisation Act that “directs the president to withdraw the US from Nato.”
“They are not a reliable partner whose defense spending should be paid for by American citizens. For the better part of the last decade, Germany has contributed only around one per cent of its GDP to finance Nato obligations while the United States is paying around four per cent of our GDP to defend Nato countries,” Ms Greene said in announcing the amendment.
She added that the US “has been financing and promising to defend Nato countries for decades and paying more than its fair share.”
“Western European countries could and should be stepping up their financial contributions to ensure the security of Nato. Instead, they are entirely beholden to Russia and US taxpayers expected to foot the bill,” Ms Greene concluded.
weatheriscool wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 3:30 am
Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces amendment directing Biden to withdraw from Nato
Source: The Independent
Paris Plays Spoiler On NATO’s Deepening Indo-Pacific Ambitions by Shairee Malhotra and Pratnashree Basu
July 28, 2023
Introduction:
(Eurasia Review) For two consecutive years, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summits welcomed the leaders of the Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4) countries—Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand—who are considered NATO’s “partners across the globe”.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has emboldened cooperation both within NATO and its 31 members, but also with the IP4 based on the merging of security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic theatres as well as common threat perceptions from China. As NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg emphasised, “What happens in Europe matters for Asia, for the Indo-Pacific; and what happens in Asia and the Indo-Pacific matters for Europe.”
In this context, the Strategic Concept released during the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid mentioned China for the first time. The joint communiqué released at the recent summit in Vilnius went a lot further—with some 14 allusions to China, it accused the country of “creating strategic dependencies to enhance its influence” and using “coercive tactics”. The communiqué also expressed concerns about China’s intensifying relationship with Russia given the China-Russia ‘no-limits’ partnershipsigned just before Putin invaded Ukraine.
To formalise NATO’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific region and facilitate dialogue with other countries, plans to open a new NATO liaison office in Japan—akin to the dozen-odd small offices NATO has in countries such as Ukraine and Georgia—are under discussion. The office would contribute to raising awareness of security challenges in the different regions, and coordinate responses on areas ranging from cyber threats to disinformation, economic coercion to disruptive technologies—all of which transcend geographic confines.
Playing right into China’s hands?
Yet, the bid to open a liaison office in Tokyo has encountered strong opposition from France based on concerns that this could aggravate tensions between China and NATO. Macron has urged NATO to remain focused on the North Atlantic, warning that expanding its reach would be “a big mistake”.
