US-Turkey Relations and future of NATO

At present, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces more challenges than ever. For some, NATO is ‘clinically dead’. After the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has become a Cold War remnant of a global security organization, whose mission and existence is being questioned openly.

Geopolitical developments over the last three decades have further marginalized NATO’s role around the world. In the past, military intervention decisions were usually made within an alliance framework by some powerful NATO member states.

The biggest challenge facing NATO cohesion is the US-Turkish antagonism that has arisen mainly as a result of the different geopolitical priorities set by Ankara and Washington in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The US sanctions against Turkey have highlighted deficiencies in the Alliance’s ranks. Among other urgent issues, the new US administration will need to focus on NATO cohesion issues and take important initiatives along with other member-states about the future of the Alliance.

The new US President faces the difficult task to restore trust in US-Turkey relations. This dialogue will entail existing and new areas of collaboration to de-escalate tensions in bilateral relations. Yet, such de-escalation presupposes a US initiative require US concessions for Ankara. The next few months will be of utmost significance both for the prospects of US-Turkey relations and the NATO future of Turkey.

The US sanctions against Turkey are a source of concern in the ranks of the Alliance. The suspension of the shipment of F-35 fighters to Turkey based on the signed purchase contract and their prepayment by Ankara was an introductory part of these sanctions.

Their significance is mainly psychological and confirms the tense US-Turkish relations and lack of trust as a result of developments in North Syria. Ankara’s calm reaction to the US sanctions in terms of words and actions does not mean that there is no US-Turkey crisis or the issue is over.

It is the Russian-Turkish approach that has challenged US-Turkish relations, because the revisionist policy of Moscow and Ankara aims to reshape the post-WW2 power balance in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

The existing power vacuum in the region and the inability of the US to fill it allows new revisionist forces to emerge and fill the gap. Russia and Turkey are in effect seeking to redistribute the geopolitical power share in the region.

Turkey is the first NATO country to use both Russian and US technology. Many believe that Russian-Turkish cooperation is just the beginning, and other forms of such cooperation will follow against the NATO set of principles and modus operandi.