Today comes to an end the NATO summit, which for two days has brought together the leaders of the 31 member countries of the organization, described as “historic” due to the approval that Turkey has given to Sweden’s entry into the organization, despite the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelensky leaving the summit with a bitter taste after failing to achieve a date for the accesion of Ukraine. Erdoğan’s change of position regarding Sweden has led a summit that Ankara has also defined as “a new beginning” in its relations with Washington, following the meeting in Vilnius between the Turkish president and his US counterpart Joe Biden.
This meeting was the culmination of a series of contacts at the highest level that diplomats from both countries have been holding in the weeks leading up to the Atlantic Alliance summit in Lithuania, including several calls between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Minister of Turkish foreign affairs Hakan Fidan, as well as a call that days ago Erdoğan and Biden held in person.
Speaking to the Anatolia agency, Luke Coffey, a prominent member of the US think tank Hudson Institute in Washington, was optimistic about the future of relations between the United States and Turkey: “I think we are seeing some measures that seek to build confidence, whether the entry of Sweden into the alliance or the sale of the F-16 by the US to Turkey. I think these are positive developments,” explained Coffey, for whom Sweden “has addressed the legitimate complaints and concerns that the Turkish government had about the PKK” and its movements in the country. “This is an opportunity for a new beginning,” he added.
Jeffrey Mankoff, a senior member at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Russia and Eurasia Program, also believes that Erdoğan “has probably achieved everything he was going to be able to achieve.” “President Erdoğan resisted (with Sweden’s entry into NATO) until the last minute trying to get all possible concessions, both from Sweden regarding the fight against the activities of the PKK and other related groups in Sweden, as well as the United States and other NATO members on issues such as arms sales, and sanctions and embargoes against Turkey.”
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
