Cartoon by Marian Kamensky

Sweden deal crowns Erdogan's post-election shift West

AFP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has performed one of his trademark policy U-turns on Sweden's accession to NATO that culminates a gradual pro-Western tilt of course since his May re-election.

Erdogan ended more than a year of wrangling and struck a deal Monday that will allow the Nordic nation to become the 32nd member of the US-led defence bloc.
 
It followed a dramatic day during which Erdogan upped the stakes by suddenly demanding a clear path for Turkey's long-stalled accession to the European Union in return.

The deal on Sweden followed a call with US President Joe Biden during which Erdogan raised both EU accession and Turkey's desire to acquire a large batch of F-16 fighter jets.

"Ankara wants to improve its relations with Europe and the West," European Council of Foreign Relations analyst Asli Aydintasbas remarked.

"The recent policy balance had shifted too much towards Russia."
 
Many note that Erdogan's change in tactics followed a June mutiny by Wagner mercenaries group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin that created mayhem in Moscow and suddenly left Putin looking weak.

But Turkey's membership of the European Union still looks like a distant prospect and Erdogan's balancing acts will likely continue for the final five years of his rule.

European powers such as France have longstanding reservations about accepting Muslim-majority Turkey into the bloc.

The European Parliament voted to suspend negotiations with Ankara in 2019 because of what it viewed as Erdogan's backsliding on democratic values and human rights.

Turkey has been a formal candidate country since 2005.

"Turkey needs Western investments, but I don't think they will come simply because the president has changed his rhetoric," Turkey's TEPAV policy institute analyst Nilgun Arisan Eralp said.

"They would like to see an economy based on the rules of law." >>>