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| Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R) talks to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (2nd L) |
International Military - The dispute between Russia and Ukraine raises a lot of concern for many parties, including Finland and Sweden. In the midst of this protracted conflict, two European countries, namely Finland and Sweden, intend to join the largest defense alliance in the world, namely NATO.
The underlying reason for these two countries is the increasing tension in the Eastern European region. Quoted from the EurAsian Times, Finnish PM Sanna Marin said his country was ready to join NATO, especially when it came to national security. "Regional security is very important to protect, especially neighboring countries Russia and Ukraine," said Sanna Marin.
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The Finnish president also stressed that his country has the option to become a member of NATO at any time. PM Marin added that every country has the right to decide its own security policy. Then followed from Sweden's decision to take a similar step
The two countries have agreed to apply for NATO membership simultaneously. Of course, the decisions of these two countries provoked the anger of Russia, President Putin saw a threat if the two countries joined NATO.
Basically, Putin assumed that Finland and Sweden would upgrade their military infrastructure alongside the NATO countries, and that's exactly what happened in Ukraine.
The refusal apparently did not come from Russia alone, one of the NATO members, namely Turkey, also refused the participation of these two countries. Turkey accuses Finland and Sweden of harboring Kurdish militants, a terrorist organization in their countries.
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In addition, Turkey also objected to the decision of these two countries to ban arms exports in 2019. Quoted from The Guardian, in 2019 it was discovered that Turkish military operations were deployed in Syria. And Turkey's attitude poses a problem for both Sweden and Finland, considering that all NATO members (30 countries) must agree to the membership of a new country.
Quoted from Topwar, said that Turkey would accept the membership of both countries if the sanctions related to the acquisition of the S-400 were lifted. The aftermath of the issue of ownership of an anti-air defense system from Russia is Turkey's expulsion from the F-35 fighter jet procurement program.
Other NATO countries, such as Canada, Britain and Germany, should also lift the ban on the supply of spare parts for Turkish defense products. The account freeze of one of the Turkish Defense Industry Directorates should also be completed.
Read Also: Turkey Refuses Membership Of Finland And Sweden To NATO, Here Are The Reasons
As a reminder, all of these sanctions are due to CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Ac) rules. A product of US law in which they prohibit countries from cooperating in the military field with Russia, China, North Korea and Iraq.
As a partner in the F-35 fighter program, Turkey should acquire 100 units. One of the conditions set by Turkey is that it wants to be included in the F-35 Lightning II procurement program. It is known that Ankara wants to acquire 100 of the warplanes as previously agreed.
Possession of the S-400 air defense system it bought from Russia, angered the US and was forced to take tough action for Ankara. For the US, any system that comes from Russia including the S-400 can be used to 'spy' the capabilities of the F-35. And Turkey has not only been expelled from procuring the F-35, it is also facing difficulties in procuring spare parts for the F-16 fighter, Defense Security Asia reports.
Read Also: Turkey “Uses” Finland and Sweden to Launch Military Operations in Syria
Seeing its current position, Turkey took advantage of its luck by negotiating with the US for the procurement of F-35 fighter aircraft. Because, the acceptance of new members (Finland and Sweden) in NATO, must be approved by all countries in it.
Quoted from Bloomberg, in addition to 100 F-35s, Turkey also wants to buy 40 new variants of the F-16 Block 70 and 80, plus spare parts. Turkey also wants Sweden and Finland to lift the arms embargo imposed on Turkey when it invaded Syria in 2019.
Turkey wants F-35 without any Requirements
A head of communications at the Turkish presidential office, Fahrettin Altun said that they should be reintroduced into the F-35 program without any conditions. "Turkey is a member of NATO for 70 years, and is an important regional stabilizer. Turkey wants to be treated fairly," Altun said, in the EurAsian Times.
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He considered that Turkey's expulsion from the F-35 program because of its possession of the S-400 air defense system was an unprofessional act. At the time, Turkey was forced to opt for the S-400 because the allies refused to offer a similar weapon on reasonable terms.