Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened the European Union that he will open the doors to Europe for at least a million refugees if his country does not receive further financial support from Brussels for their needs, and from the Un
Turkey’s economy has been in increasingly difficult straits for months, especially since the failed July 2016 coup attempt.
Back on Monday, July 22, the Turkish government announced that it was suspending the agreement on the readmission of immigrants, signed with the European Union in 2016.
In recent weeks a dramatic escalation of tension around Turkish oil drilling rig presence in the disputed Exclusive Enterprise Zone surrounding EU member state Cyprus is taking place. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is claiming that Turkey has the right to drill not only in the waters off of Northern Cyprus, but also in waters far from there where Greek Cyprus has claimed rights. The actions, moving Turkish oil and gas drilling platforms into the waters, is creating a dramatic new clash in the energy-rich Eastern Mediterranean. The line-up of actors makes for a political Molotov cocktail of clashing interests that potentially pits not only Turkey against Cyprus and Greece, but also Israel and the USA, with Russia and China watching with keen interest. .
The European Union has suspended financial assistance to Turkey and interrupted the dialogue at the highest level. In a dispute over gas, the EU sided with the Greeks.
After the start of S-400 deliveries to Turkey, a respected German professor, international and foreign policy analyst Thomas Jäger plainly states:
Since 2017, politicians and experts have been debating whether Turkey will buy Russian air defense systems despite US threats. Today, all these arguments have broken about the harsh reality.
The United States suspended Turkish pilots from training on F-35 fighter jets and demanded that they close the S-400 deal by the end of July.
The State Department demanded that by the end of the first week of June, Turkey canceled the S-400 deal with Russia. Will Recep Erdogan withstand the pressure of Washington?
© 2019
