“I would say that Turkey, despite our disagreements on this question, has been a valuable NATO ally,” Spokesman Matthew Miller said in response to a question about calls for Türkiye’s expulsion from NATO following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s remarks about Hamas. 

“We look forward to continuing to work with them to strengthen NATO, and that includes securing Sweden’s quick accession to NATO something that we know is now pending in the Turkish parliament,” he added. 

“This is not the first issue with which we’ve disagreed with the leadership of Turkey, but we still find them to be a productive and helpful NATO ally,” Miller said.

Last week, Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, called for NATO to “seriously consider” Türkiye’s membership after President Erdogan said Hamas is “not a terrorist organization”.

In response to a question on Turkish President Erdogan’s remarks, Miller said: “I think we have been very clear about our assessment that they are in fact a real terrorist organization”. 

Source: AA

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“If they fulfill their promise, our parliament will also fulfill its, and take its steps accordingly,” Erdogan was quoted by semi-official Anadolu Agency as saying.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has recently held meetings with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken regarding the issue, Erdogan told journalists on his flight back from Azerbaijan to Türkiye.

After being kicked out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet program by Washington for purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense systems, Ankara has sought to buy more F-16 jets, but its request has been pending for months with the Biden administration and U.S. Congress.

The Turkish government agreed to advance Sweden’s accession to NATO in July, but the decision needs the approval of its parliament which will end recess in October.

The Turkish parliament ratified Finland’s NATO bid in March, but is still reluctant about a similar bid from Sweden because of its alleged support for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Their accession to NATO needs the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Türkiye, a NATO member, held back its approval and accused the two Nordic countries of supporting anti-Turkish Kurdish organizations and political dissidents.

Source: Xinhua

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The number of journalists whose applications for a Schengen visa have been turned down has “significantly risen,” according to the European Federation of Journalists, or EFJ. The visas permit free travel across the European Union.

In a statement this week, the EFJ said that journalists who travel frequently for work are being given short-term visas only, which means they must make repeated applications.

“This burdensome and financially unsustainable process must be addressed,” the federation said.

A Turkish citizen who holds a regular passport must apply for a visa to enter the Schengen area, which encompasses 27 EU member states.

Data from SchengenVisaInfo show the rate of Turkish citizens’ visa rejections at 15% last year. But the EFJ said the rate of visa rejections for Turkish citizens in 2023 has surged to 50 percent, affecting journalists.

“We call upon a number of diplomatic missions to rectify their prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes toward journalists from Turkey, as these biases obstruct reporters from fulfilling their professional responsibilities effectively,” EFJ Vice President Mustafa Kuleli said.

The Turkish government has repeatedly charged that the EU’s motive behind the visa rejections of Turkish citizens is political.

“We will settle the visa problem, which has been used as political blackmail recently, as soon as possible,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on May 30.

The EU authorities deny that claim. “No decisions are taken on political grounds but rather on objective grounds,” Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the EU delegation to Turkey, told Reuters.

Visa deal

Under a 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey, Brussels pledged to provide 6 billion euros (about $6.7 billion) to Ankara to help it prevent refugee crossings onto EU soil and also to ease the visa application process for the Turkish citizens.

“The EU visa liberalization promised to the Turkish citizens is now almost a dream. The application requirements are getting more difficult, and the number of the requested documents is increasing daily,” said EFJ President Nazmi Bilgin.

Bilgin told VOA that Turkish citizens are being treated as potential refugees intending to flee to Europe.

Kivanc El, the head of the Progressive Journalists Association, said the foreign officials from EU nations act as if Turkish journalists will seek asylum there.

“If our colleagues consider seeking asylum, they would do it properly. But, in their visa applications, their destination, where they will be, what meetings they will attend are known,” El told VOA.

On June 15, T24 editor-in-chief Dogan Akin wrote a column detailing that, when the news website’s foreign editor applied for a Schengen visa from the German consulate four years ago, T24 was asked to provide its bank statements.

“We decided not to move forward with the visa application at that point,” Akin wrote.

Last August, Reuters reported that Turkish sports presenter Sinem Okten’s Schengen visa application was rejected twice. “I applied first to Germany, then to France. Both rejected my application,” Okten told Reuters.

“I’ve traveled abroad numerous times to follow and film matches and interview people, maybe 50 to 60 times. This is the first time I am having this problem,” she said.

Bilgin said that visa rejections affect journalistic work.

“In the past, our colleagues could easily get visas only by stating the institution they work for and explaining where and when they will travel. Even if they fulfill the aggravated application requirements, they cannot get a visa these days,” Bilgin said.

The Schengen visa application with additional service fees can cost about 100 euros, more than a quarter of the current monthly minimum wage in Turkey.

Worries about financial security

According to Reuters Institute’s 2022 Digital News report, the media sector in Turkey faces financial problems “with devaluation fueling a 20-year high in inflation.”

“Independent journalists who already work under difficult political conditions are also increasingly worried for their financial security,” the report states.

Journalists with press cards issued by the Turkish presidency’s Directorate of Communications are eligible to obtain service passports that enable them to travel visa-free to the Schengen area for their work.

“Unfortunately, the Directorate of Communications does not issue press cards to many journalists,” El told VOA.

Fahrettin Altun, the director of communications in the Turkish presidency, wrote on Turkey’s Directorate of Communications website, “So long as we are on duty, we will keep combating those who carry out ‘terrorism propaganda’ in the guise of ‘journalism.’ Terror sympathizers should not rejoice in vain.”

Local journalism organizations say the Directorate of Communications hands the press cards only to pro-government media outlets, discriminating against independent or dissident journalists.

Source: VOA

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Erdoğan last week called for Brussels to re-engage with Turkey after years of frozen progress on its formal bid to become an EU member, linking the demand to his decision to lift a veto on EU member Sweden joining Nato.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has forced a rethink of the EU’s attitude to its neighbours. Ukraine and Moldova have both been designated official candidate countries and the long-stalled accession talks with six western Balkan states have gained fresh impetus.

The new demand from Erdoğan — which EU officials said boiled down to his wish for greater access to the EU customs union, visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens and an extension of aid to Ankara linked to migration management — will be discussed on Thursday by EU foreign ministers and informed by the diplomatic arm’s proposal.

The ministers’ conclusions will form the basis of a European Commission report on the EU-Turkey relationship that will be discussed by EU leaders later this year. “We’re not swallowing the membership demand line whole,” said a senior EU official. “But there’s definitely a willingness from many of us to see where we can do more together.”

A €3bn funding package linked to Turkey’s hosting of Syrian refugees and discouraging them from travelling to Europe expires this year, but two EU officials said an extension of that was already baked into calculations over Brussels’ future budgetary requirements.

Progress on both visa liberalisation and Turkey’s participation in the bloc’s customs union is possible, according to people involved in the talks. But this would require movement from Ankara on issues such as data-sharing and anti-terror legislation, and trade measures seen as protectionist by Brussels.

EU members Cyprus and Greece are opposed to closer relations that do not include progress from Ankara on a UN-led initiative to normalise relations over the divided Mediterranean island. Some eastern EU states are also irritated by Erdoğan’s failure to adopt western sanctions against Russia and expand his trade relationship with Moscow.

Others also remain concerned about closer ties with a country where the EU has stated that rule of law and the protection of human rights are “key concerns”.

Yet the paper by the bloc’s diplomatic arm, seen by the Financial Times, called on foreign ministers to look at where “the EU could concentrate efforts on consolidating or increasing its leverage in relations with Turkey”, given Ankara’s new “geopolitical relevance” since Russia’s invasion.

“In the light of the shifting geopolitical context it is important to discuss the way forward on EU-Turkey relations in the short to the medium term,” it said.

A second EU official noted “certain change in approach from the new [Turkish] government, and we want to see where we might be able to go with that”. Erdoğan’s U-turn on Sweden was one a number of moves over recent weeks that have “de-escalated” tensions between Ankara and the west, as Turkey seeks to lure back foreign investors and stem its economic crisis.

“[Turkey] at least wants an open and frank decision on the difficult issues where we have differences,” the official added.

As a result, the bloc’s foreign ministers should discuss “further opportunities for the EU to build on existing strands, such as economic co-operation, migration management and climate change,” according to the paper, “and consider steps of constructive engagement that would allow the EU to be more effective in . . . exploring possibilities for cooperation.”

“The current geopolitical situation could trigger bridging divergences or opening new opportunities for targeted co-operation on the basis of convergence of the EU and Turkey foreign policy interests,” it added.

Source: Financial Times

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For one thing there is the continuous low-level conflict with Greece, a firmly-established member of NATO – along with Turkey – since 1952. Not the happiest of neighbors, there has been armed conflict between the Greeks and Turks in the 18^th Century, again in 1919~1922 and finally the matter of Cyprus and control over other contiguous islands of the Mediterranean. Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974, after a Greek military coup.

While Türkiye, a new nation-state emerging from the crumbling Ottoman Empire, has long stood against its gigantic neighbor across the Black Sea, and even invited the USA to station its liquid-fueled nuclear-capable guided missiles on its territory (inevitably leading up to the Russians, in a tit-for-tat response, stationing their nuclear R-12 IRBMs in Cuba in 1962, in a showdown that nearly precipitated a nuclear Armageddon with the USA).

Wide areas of disagreement have festered in recent times, with Türkiye complaining about having to shelter over a million persons displaced by armed conflicts in the Arab states – the American adventure in Iraq being the most notorious, followed by the vainglorious attempt to smash the Al-Assad regime in Syria. American forces often allied with the Kurds, a sorely-persecuted minority in Türkiye, further exacerbating relations with Washington.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unfortunately not fulfilled his assigned role as an obedient servant of the west, rather preferring to see which way the wind is blowing and reset the attention of his country in that direction. He cozied up to old adversary Russia – now that the USSR represents no threat – and agreed to install its S-400 missile defense system when Washington played coy about selling theirs.

Note that the S-400 is specifically designed to knock down NATO aircraft. This purchase was none of their business, and should not have outraged NATO but it did anyway. Relations with the People’s Republic of China, at a low point when a 5,000-man-strong Turkish army fought the PLA in North Korea in 1950, improved dramatically in recent years, culminating in a state visit by President Erdogan to Beijing in 2009. This cannot have made NATO allies feel very confident, either.

Now a hot election campaign in Türkiye, one in which the reasonably-popular Erdogan did not win outright in the first round. CNN, a notorious Deep State propaganda mouthpiece, mounted a ceaseless campaign against him, along with other western media, but to Washington’s consternation he won the runoff anyway.

What is the current tone of relations between this rambunctious NATO member and the West? Listen to Türkiye’s tubby Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu, ranting to cheering crowds in Istanbul, on 27 May: “Call us cowards if we don’t wipe out whoever is troubling this country, including the American troops, in the next five years.”

Oops.

“Does President Tayyip Erdogan deliver what I have been saying?” More cheers, as he swings his fat fist menacingly.

And more: “This is the first time we have had such an opportunity. This is the first time we caught the West [in such a weak position]. This is the fist time we caught America. We caught them with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a leader who could only emerge in this country for the first time in a century.”

More Oops from fellow NATO members.

“We are now in our most powerful time for 300 years, by the will and grace of Allah. Tomorrow will be the turning point of saving the world from their [Western powers’] oppression, and their evil deeds.”

(Meanwhile a smiling “President Biden” turns to shake hands with Someone Who Isn’t There.)

Does this sound like the way a NATO member should talk about its allies?

Best Comment on Twitter, from a “Chen Weihua”: “It’s clear that Western interest has bet against Erdogan tis time and it amounted to election interference if you watched CNN in the last few weeks.”

Meanwhile, NATO is standing there completely dumbfounded, looking like (as we used to say in the military) “…they don’t know whether to shave, shine, shit or salute”.

In response to this tirade, EU Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, in 2007 an enthusiastic proponent of EU membership for Turkey, responded innocently, also on Twitter, “Campaign pitch by the Türkiye’s Minister of the Interior. Fairly horrible. Is this the Türkiye we will now face? I sincerely hope not.”

He sounds like he was born yesterday.

“Hark! The wind is blowing from the east!

Look over yonder! There’s a line of five Russian oil tankers heading our way. Jackpot!”

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While the EU is promoting the ninth round of sanctions against Russia, the head of EU foreign policy recently expressed “concern” about the close relationship between Türkiye and Russia, and called on Türkiye to join the sanctions against Russia. This speech angered Türkiye’s President RecepTayyip Erdogan, who responded on the 15th that EU politicians have no right to interfere in Turkish Russian relations.

According to the West German Report of Germany on December 11, in a letter to the European Parliament, EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borrell said that Türkiye’s refusal to join the EU’s sanctions against Russia is increasingly “worrying”. He also warned that the deepening of bilateral economic relations between Russia and Turkey is also a “worrying issue”.

Borrell urged Türkiye to comply with the sanctions imposed by the EU on Moscow and not provide Russia with a “temporary solution” to circumvent the sanctions.

But this statement made Türkiye’s President RecepTayyip Erdogan extremely dissatisfied. The Anadolu News Agency of Türkiye reported on the 15th that Erdogan lashed out at Borrell when answering questions from the media that day, stressing that he had no right to “dictate” the relationship between Turkey and Russia.

“I don’t think Borrelli can shout at me, and his level can only talk to the Foreign Minister, Mr. Chavushiolu.” Erdogan said, “In other words, Borrelli cannot define or adjust our relationship with Russia. He has neither the qualifications nor the ability to make such a decision. His remarks are offensive.”

Erdogan emphasized that the relationship between Türkiye and Russia cannot be evaluated only within the scope of sanctions. He criticized that even after Ankara also made many efforts to implement the Russia-Ukraine food agreement, Borrell told Türkiye: At present, 44% of Europe’s food comes from where? They come from the Black Sea. Who is the mediator? Turkiye. Do you thank us? No.”

Türkiye has always been neutral to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, unwilling to join the Western countries’ sanctions against Russia, and tries to “resolve the crisis” as a “mediator”. According to Reuters, Erdogan held phone conversations with leaders of Russia and Ukraine on the 11th to discuss issues such as further expanding the Black Sea food export agreement.

As Borrell tried to “woo” Türkiye, the EU approved the ninth round of sanctions against Russia at the winter summit that ended on the 15th. According to the process, the plan will be officially confirmed through a “written procedure” on the 16th local time and announced.

Euronews reported that the ninth round of sanctions may impose an asset freeze and travel ban on nearly 200 Russian individuals or entities, including government ministers, parliamentarians, local officials, political parties and armed forces. The EU also plans to impose more sanctions on Russia’s defense industry and banks, and impose stricter export controls on equipment such as chemicals, electronic products, and drone components.

Regarding the EU’s decision, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zaharova stated at a news conference on the 15th that no matter what new measures the EU takes, Russia will respond quickly, “Russia will respond to any unfriendly attacks.”.

Source : Baijahao

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Erdogan’s furious comments further distanced the prospects of Sweden and Finland joining the Western defense alliance before Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary polls in May.

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO members not to have ratified the Nordic neighbors’ historic decision to break their tradition of military non-alignment in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has promised that his parliament would approve the two bids next month.

But Erdogan has dug in his heels heading into a close election in which he is trying to energize his nationalist electoral base.

“Sweden should not expect support from us for NATO,” Erdogan said in his first official response to the act by an anti-Islam politician during a protest on Saturday that was approved by the Swedish police despite Turkey’s objections.

“It is clear that those who caused such a disgrace in front of our country’s embassy can no longer expect any benevolence from us regarding their application for NATO membership,” Erdogan said.

Swedish leaders roundly condemned far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s actions but defended their country’s broad definition of free speech.

Erdogan has already set out a series of tough conditions that include a demand for Sweden to extradite dozens of mostly Kurdish suspects that Ankara either accuses of “terrorism” or of involvement in a failed 2016 coup.

Sweden’s courtship of Turkey appeared to be making headway with a flurry of visits by top ministers to Ankara.

Stockholm has also enacted a constitutional amendment that will make it possible to pass tougher anti-terror laws demanded by Ankara.

But things turned sour when a small Kurdish group hung an effigy of Erdogan outside Stockholm’s city hall earlier this month..

Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador and revoked an invitation for its parliament speaker to visit Ankara.

The Swedish police decision to approve Paludan’s protests drew a similar response.

Turkey summoned Stockholm’s ambassador for another dressing down and canceled a planned visit by Sweden’s defense minister.

Erdogan said the burning of the Muslim holy book was a hate crime that could not be defended by free speech.

“No one has the right to humiliate the saints,” he said in nationally televised remarks.

source: timesofisrael

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Rüya Bayegan using prime minister Barzani’s right hand – Rania Majeed – to elbow her way back to KRG?

Ankara, Erbil (4/1 – 45).

Rüya Bayegan, the CEO of BGN International and its Turkey-based subsidiary Bayegan Group, was once considered an instrumental member of the petrochemical industry in Turkey. However, as of at least October 2022, Bayegan and her husband, Ercüment Bayegan, have been under investigation by Turkish authorities on allegations of fraud, document forgeries and tax evasion as a result of their role in the disastrous Yurtgas scandal.

The recent contract between BGN International with the Indonesian state owned oil and gas company Pertamina raises questions in Jakarta with various government supervisory agencies.

In June 2022 the magazine Upstream reported the Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission, the Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK), has reportedly launched an investigation into possible graft relating to the historic procurement of liquefied natural gas by national oil company Pertamina.

In an attempt to prove Rüya Bayegan utility to the Turkish government and dampen her fall from grace, it appears that Bayegan is turning to long familiar partners in Kurdistan.

Bayegan Group/BGN has a history of operating in Kurdistan, but little information is available in the public domain. Turkish energy policy heavily features the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) and as a former extension of Turkish economic objectives, Bayegan has proven to be a useful proxy there for politics as well as business.

Local sources note that Bayegan, and BGN/Bayegan Group, have intentionally obscured their relationships inside of Kurdistan’s government to maintain unincumbered access to the local oil and gas markets. It stands to reason that the KRG, which has garnered a reputation of being rife with “corruption, cronyism, and nepotism”, would also seek to downplay its relationship with external players benefitting from such a structure.

When Prime Minister Barzani took office, he vowed to address these issues, instating individuals in relevant positions in the more notorious of ministries, to include the Ministry for Natural Resources. However, when his appointee – Kamal Atroshi – became too focused on implementing anticorruption measures, Barzani turned his most powerful supporter and ally on him, forcing him out of his job.

In August 2022 the Fikra Forum highlighted that despite the promises of reform Kurdistan business as usual continues in the troubled region.

It is this ally, Prime Minister Barzani’s gatekeeper and close personal confidante, Dr. Rania Majeed (Ranya Majid), with whom Bayegan has maintained a quiet, close relationship. Majeed is known inside of KRG and among government insiders as the “untouchable” and fiercely loyal right hand to Barzani and manages relationships and highest priority objectives on Barzani’s political and personal agendas, to include in the oil and gas and housing sectors. According to Draw Dr. Rania Majeed was appointed in 2019 as the economic advisor to Masrour Barzani as a key appointee of the Kurdish administration tightly controlling the oil revenues to Kurdistan.  

Given that Bayegan is facing civil and potential criminal charges stemming from allegations of tax evasion, forgeries of documents, company names, and addresses, as well as unpaid million-dollar debts, it is no surprise that Kurdistan and Majeed have downplayed their relationship – a public connection between the two would throw their historical and ongoing professional collaborations under extraordinary scrutiny.  

“It is yet to be seen if the Kurdish administration continues to engage with questionable business partners to enrich themselves or not”, said a senior official in Ankara.

Rüya Bayegan, the CEO of BGN International and its Turkey-based subsidiary Bayegan Group, was once considered an instrumental member of the petrochemical industry in Turkey.

Bayegan- Kurdish relationship

Bayegan and Majeed have shared a longstanding business relationship, mutually benefitting from their exclusive arrangements. It is through this relationship – and Majeed’s ability to influence the energy industry at her whim –  that Bayegan is able to access products before others in the industry.

Recently, It was reported that the KRG’s oil ministry offered Bayegan additional spot volumes previously designated for other trading partners. BGN International’s director Emin Imanov was quoted as stating that the company was offered and agreed to purchase these barrels. The price of BGN’s purchase remains undisclosed. 

Rania Majeed’s energy influence 

Given the important role the energy sector plays in KRG politics, it’s no surprise that Barzani has installed his number two as a gatekeeper for oil contracts. Barzani specifically requested that Majid serve as an advisor within the Ministry of Natural Resources in order to act a direct and trusted line of information within one of the most critical to his success as prime minister. 

Majeed serves as the primary interlocutor for the KRG’s energy relations with key stakeholders, ranging from internal decision-makers in the sector to external advisors and leaders. Together with RT Bank director Hamela Gardi and the director general of contracts and companies at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Dr. Ghazala, Majeed holds the keys to the proverbial kingdom, and has the latitude to dictate who end up among KRG’s energy partners.

A source in the Ministry of Natural Resources echoed a sentiment published in an article about Majeed’s influence, “no oil minister can encroach on the power of these three women in Barzani’s cabinet.”  

When previous Minister for Natural Resources Kamal Atroshi began pushing for transparency in the ministry, Majid intervened and sought to obstruct and undermine Atroshi’s efforts, resulting in Atroshi’s resignation in May 2022.  Majid also reportedly influenced Atroshi’s decision to change oil payment dates for invoices from 15 days to three months in 2020. 

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Biden administration officials are toughening their language toward NATO ally Turkey as they try to talk Turkish President Recep Erdogan out of launching a bloody and destabilizing ground offensive against American-allied Kurdish forces in neighboring Syria.

Since Nov. 20, after six people died in an Istanbul bombing a week before that Turkey blamed, without evidence, on the U.S. and its Kurdish allies in Syria, Turkey has launched cross-border airstrikes, rockets and shells into U.S.- and Kurdish-patrolled areas of Syria, leaving Kurdish funeral corteges burying scores of dead.

Some criticized the initial muted U.S. response to the near-daily Turkish bombardment — a broad call for “de-escalation” — as a U.S. green light for more. With Erdogan not backing down on his threat to escalate, the U.S. began speaking more forcefully.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called his Turkish counterpart on Wednesday to express “strong opposition” to Turkey launching a new military operation in northern Syria.

And National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Friday made one of the administration’s first specific mentions of the impact of the Turkish strikes on the Kurdish militia, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, that works with the United States against Islamic State militants bottled up in northern Syria.

How successfully the United States manages Erdogan’s threat to send troops in against America’s Kurdish partners over coming weeks will affect global security concerns far from that isolated corner of Syria.

That’s especially true for the Ukraine conflict. The Biden administration is eager for Erdogan’s cooperation with other NATO partners in countering Russia, particularly when it comes to persuading Turkey to drop its objections to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

But giving Turkey free rein in attacks on the Syrian Kurds in hopes of securing Erdogan’s cooperation within NATO would have big security implications of its own.

U.S. forces on Friday stopped joint military patrols with the Kurdish forces in northern Syria to counter Islamic State extremists, as the Kurds concentrate on defending themselves from the Turkish air and artillery attacks and a possible ground invasion.

Since 2015, the Syrian Kurdish forces have worked with the few hundred forces the U.S. has on the ground there, winning back territory from the Islamic State and then detaining thousands of Islamic State fighters and their families and battling remnant Islamic State fighters. On Saturday, the U.S. and Kurds resumed limited patrols at one of the detention camps.

“ISIS is the forgotten story for the world and the United States, because of the focus on Ukraine,” said Omer Taspinar, an expert on Turkey and European security at the Brookings Institution and the National War College. ISIS is one widely used acronym for the Islamic State.

“Tragically, what would revive Western support for the Kurds … would be another ISIS terrorist attack, God forbid, in Europe or in the United States that will remind people that we actually have not defeated ISIS,” Taspinar said.

Turkey says the Syrian Kurds are allied to a nearly four-decade PKK Kurdish insurgency in southeast Turkey that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people on both sides. The United States’ Syrian Kurdish allies deny any attacks in Turkey.

U.S. Central Command, and many in Congress, praise the Syrian Kurds as brave comrades in arms. In July, Central Command angered Turkey by tweeting condolences for a Syrian Kurdish deputy commander and two other female fighters killed by a drone strike blamed on Turkey.

In 2019, a public outcry by his fellow Republicans and many others killed a plan by President Donald Trump, which he announced after a call with Erdogan, to clear U.S. troops out of the way of an expected Turkish attack on the Kurdish allies in Syria.

Then-presidential contender Joe Biden was among those expressing outrage.

“The Kurds were integral in helping us defeat ISIS — and too many lost their lives. Now, President Trump has abandoned them. It’s shameful,” Biden tweeted at the time.

The measured U.S. response now — even after some Turkish strikes hit near sites that host U.S. forces — reflects the significant strategic role that Turkey, as a NATO member, plays in the alliance’s efforts to counter Russia in Europe. The State Department and USAID did not immediately answer questions about whether the Turkish strikes had hindered aid workers and operations that partner with the United States.

Turkey, with strong ties to both Russia and the United States, has contributed to its NATO allies’ efforts against Russia in key ways during the Ukraine conflict. That includes supplying armed drones to Ukraine, and helping mediate between Russia and the United States and others.

But Turkey is also seeking to exert leverage within the alliance by blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO. Turkey is demanding that Sweden surrender Kurdish exiles that it says are affiliated with the PKK Kurdish insurgents.

Turkey’s state-run news agency reported that Sweden extradited a member of the PKK and he was arrested Saturday upon arrival in Istanbul.

Turkey is one of only two of the 30 NATO members not to have signed off yet on the Nordic countries’ NATO memberships. Hungary, the other, is expected to do so.

At a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, Romania, this past week, NATO diplomats refrained from publicly confronting Turkey, avoiding giving offense that might further set back the cause of Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership.

Turkey’s foreign minister made clear to his European counterparts that Turkey had yet to be appeased, when it came to Finland or Sweden hosting Kurdish exiles there.

“We reminded that in the end, it’s the Turkish people and the Turkish parliament that need to be convinced,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters on the sidelines.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to talk Thursday with Finland’s and Sweden’s foreign ministers on dealing with Turkey’s objections to their NATO accession.

Experts say the Biden administration has plenty of leverage to wield privately in urging Erdogan to relent in the threatened escalated attack on Syrian Kurds. That includes U.S. F-16 fighter sales that Turkey wants but have been opposed by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez and others in Congress.

There’s a third big security risk in the U.S. handling of Turkey’s invasion threat, along with the possible impact on the Ukraine conflict and on efforts to contain the Islamic State.

That’s the risk to Kurds, a stateless people and frequent U.S. ally often abandoned by the U.S. and the West in past conflicts over the past century.

If the U.S. stands by while Turkey escalates attacks on the Syrian Kurds who were instrumental in quelling the Islamic State, “especially in the aftermath of Afghanistan, what message are we sending to the Middle East?” asked Henri J. Barkey, an expert on Kurds and Turkey at the Council on Foreign Relations and at Lehigh University.

“And to all allies in general?” Barkey asked.

An ethnic group of millions at the intersection of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria, Kurds lost out on a state of their own as the U.S. and other powers carved up the remnants of the Turkish Ottoman Empire after World War I.

Saddam Hussein and other regional leaders used poison gas, airstrikes and other tools of mass slaughter over the decades to suppress the Kurds. As under U.S. President George H.W. Bush in 1991 after the Gulf War, the United States at times encouraged popular uprisings but stood by as Kurds died in the resulting massacres.

On Nov. 28, hundreds of Syrian Kurds gathered for the victims of one of the Turkish airstrikes — five guards killed securing the al-Hol camp, which holds thousands of family members of Islamic State fighters.

Relatives of one of the Kurdish guards, Saifuddin Mohammed, placed his photo on his grave.

“Of course, we are proud,” said his brother, Abbas Mohammed. “He defended his land and his honor against the Turkish invading forces.”

Source: AP News

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