AnalysisAsiaDefenceDiplomacyEditorialEuropeFeaturesGlobal IssuesMiddle EastNorth AmericaOpinionPoliticsSecurityWorld
Turkey Invites The Russians Into NATO – OpEd
Turkey is not quite a founder member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but with Greece was the first addition to the 12 nations that set up the organization in 1949.
Both countries were admitted in 1952 in recognition of the vital strategic positions they occupied as outposts of Western democracy.
- Neville Teller
- Eurasia Review
The hope at the time, with the Cold War at its iciest, was that Turkey would help protect NATO’s eastern flank from Soviet aggression.
In the event Turkey frequently diverged from the consensus view within the alliance, but since Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power – first as Turkey’s prime minister, and later as President – Turkey has pursued strategic and…