Counter-Terrorism Coordination Office will be established for the first time in the history of NATO

Evaluating the NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government (Vilnius Summit Communiqué) held on July 11-12 and Türkiye's acceptance to support Sweden's NATO membership, Prof. Havva Kök Arslan said that Türkiye got what it wanted at the summit although it is partially. Stating that Türkiye has no reservations about Sweden becoming a member, Arslan also pointed out that for the first time in the history of NATO, a counter-terrorism coordination office will be established at the insistence of Türkiye and stressed that whether Sweden keeps its promise to support Türkiye in the fight against terrorism depends on our relations with the West and America.

Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Political Science and International Relations (English) Department Head Prof. Havva Kök Arslan evaluated the NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government (Vilnius Summit Communiqué) held on July 11-12 and Türkiye's giving green light for Sweden's NATO membership.

Prof. Arslan: "Türkiye partially got what it wanted"

Assessing the NATO Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, Prof. Havva Kök Arslan said from Türkiye's point of view: "We can say that Türkiye partially got what it wanted in this summit. In fact, there was nothing else we could do. We pushed quite a bit, and there was no point in forcing it after that. The conjuncture has become so deadlocked that it would not be possible for Türkiye to say 'no' at the moment. If the conditions were different; for example, the recognition of Cyprus could have been introduced as a condition. However, it is necessary to leave this showdown in the most appropriate situation. So, it happened, and it was left where it should have been left. If they had said 'no', there would have been a greater pressure on all of Türkiye and it would not have been good for Türkiye.".

For the first time in NATO's history, a counter-terrorism coordination office will be established at the insistence of Türkiye

Arslan stated that Türkiye got what it wanted at the summit on the issue of terrorism and said that "Türkiye has no reservations about Sweden becoming a member, it has always said that it is positive about the expansion of NATO. If the agreement on issues such as PKK, PYD, FETÖ is put into practice in the fight against terrorism, we can say that Türkiye got what it wanted. As a matter of fact, it should be recorded. For the first time in NATO's history, a counter-terrorism coordination office will be established as a result of Türkiye's insistence on this issue. Thus, this is a positive development.".

The government seems to have the sincerity and intention to improve all our relations in the new period...

Evaluating the anti-Swedish statements of some politicians, Arslan stated that "NATO is not only about Sweden. There are other countries besides Sweden. What really interests us is America's attitude. Some see Mr. Erdoğan's move as opportunistic to link it to the European Union. I want to see it in this way; in the new period, the government seems to be sincere or intending to improve all our relations with the West and the European Union, NATO, America and the Atlantic and is taking steps to ensure that it is sincere about this. As for the statements about Sweden, it depends more on NATO and where the United States positions Türkiye, rather than Sweden. If Türkiye is going to be an important ally for them and we are going to persistently pursue it, Sweden will inevitably do it because NATO will have a coordinating institution. Whether Sweden keeps its word on this issue depends on our relations with the West and especially with America”.

We must continue our relations with the West by maintaining a balance with the East

Emphasizing the necessity of establishing a coordination institution against terrorism, Prof. Havva Kök Arslan said that "Sweden needs to take steps in this regard; however, we need to emphasize this insistently and continuously. What America wanted most now was for Sweden to join NATO. Sweden's acceptance stems from Sweden's own importance. What was important for us was the fight against terrorism.”.

Sweden's membership is desired due to long-term plans

Referring to the reflections of Türkiye's Swedish decision on the world, Arslan said that "Especially the United States attaches great importance to Türkiye's acceptance of Sweden's NATO membership. If they consider Russia a threat, Finland's border with Russia is much longer. The answer to the question of why they did not care about this but they care about Sweden may be that America or the West looks at this issue in the very long term. Sweden is a very important country in terms of dominance in the North Sea. In March 2022, an exercise was held at NATO. It was assumed that the countries in the south of Europe, including Türkiye, were covered with deserts, the Arctic Ocean became melted and fertile lands. This exercise was held with the idea of dominating that region.”.

Stating that the main goal of America and the Atlantic alliance is to dominate the North Sea, Arslan continued: "It is aimed to ensure the expansion of NATO in countries such as Sweden, Norway and Finland. That's why Sweden is so important. Another aspect that makes Sweden important is that it has a very sophisticated defense industry an industrial product. This is also wanted to be incorporated into NATO. Of course, there are also issues such as limiting Russia, which is not part of NATO or the Western alliance, and preventing China from infiltrating the North Sea.".

If Russia had reacted harshly, there would have been no Erdoğan-Putin meeting

Assessing how Türkiye's approval of Sweden will affect Russia-Türkiye relations, Prof. Havva Kök Arslan said that "The Russians did not react much to Türkiye's acceptance of Sweden because they knew that this would be the case, or they were aware that Türkiye could not do anything about it. This process is similar to Türkiye's resistance to the pressure of 'go to war' during World War II until the end and finally its involvement. The Russians understand us. They show understanding because they believe that Türkiye cannot show any more resistance on this issue.”.

 

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)