Turkey in Nato

There have long been concerns that Turkey is moving away from the democratic values that underpin the Nato alliance. Accusations of authoritarianism have plagued President Erdoğan since he assumed office.

This week, Turkey broke Nato unity by holding up applications from Finland and Sweden to join the alliance. At a meeting of ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday, representatives of the Turkish president blocked a vote on talks, dashing the hopes of officials that the two Nordic nations could undergo an accelerated accession process. This has inevitably raised questions about how sustainable Turkey’s Nato membership really is.

On the one hand, Ankara has done much to support Kyiv since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion. It closed the Bosphorus and the Dardanelle straits to warships, preventing Russia from replacing lost ships. Turkish drones sold to the Ukrainians have also proved highly effective. More generally, Ankara is an important strategic ally, with a large and effective military.

On the other, on several occasions Erdoğan has acted in ways that were antagonistic to fellow Nato members. Notably, Turkey bought Russian-made missile systems that resulted in its ejection from a Us-led fighter jet programme.

The Turkish president has a reputation as a canny deal-maker, securing a high price from the EU, for example, for curbing migrant crossings to Greece. His economy is also currently in crisis. Most analysts believe that Turkish support for Sweden and Finland’s Nato membership can eventually be secured via concessions. Let us hope they are right.