Has Turkey Defected to Russia and China? Turkey, under intense pressure from both the United States and the European Union, this month "abruptly" began to block the transit of sanctioned goods to Russia. This welcome development follows reports that Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury's top sanctions official, met with Turkish counterparts last month in Ankara and Istanbul. Previously, Turkey had aided the Russian war effort by allowing Moscow to use it as a conduit for the flow of goods. Turkish companies had even sold, in violation of U.S. sanctions[Not that the US has any authority or sovereignty over Turkey......], products to Russian companies. There is, unfortunately, no good news on a more consequential front. Ankara is still blocking the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Both Scandinavian countries, long neutral, applied for membership soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February ...All eyes are now on Turkey's May 14 general election. Erdogan faces stiff opposition, and many think he would lose in a fair contest, especially because of discontent over botched relief efforts after last month's devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in the southern and central parts of the country. As a practical matter, there will be no progress on the enlargement of NATO until the vote. As Gregory Copley, president of the International Strategic Studies Association, tells Newsweek, "Erdogan is desperately attempting to show that he is the decisive figure in NATO, not only to gain leverage in the other NATO states but also to show his domestic audience that he is a world leader." 🔗Source: Newsweek (https://www.newsweek.com/has-turkey-defected-russia-china-opinion-1787361 Related Reading: U.S. Hegemony Under Attack as Saudis, UAE, India Ignore Threats of Sanctions, Turn to Russia and China http://mcguiremitchell32.medium.com/us-hegemony-threatened-as-saudis-uae-india-ignore-threats-of-sanctions-turn-to-russia-china-9473f26a6342 #turkey #Russia #china #newsweek #politics

I’ve gotta say! What an impressive ”hub” Istanbul is! Such a nice airport. With a terrace AND a 360-degree tower one can visit.

Good Night Friends. istanbul - Maiden's Tower

Doing a Somee Tour soon. Terrorising people of the world 🌍 starting with Istanbul/ Turkey 🇹🇷 Then Manila, Cebu, Camiguin, Southern Leyte / Philippines🇵🇭 Taipei/ Taiwan 🇹🇼 Paris/ France 🇫🇷 Copenhagen/ Denmark 🇩🇰 Just lets hope they keep it open. I just read Thailand will close its country on the 9:th Jan for unvaccinated. The hoax continues.

Sometimes a break from your routine is the very thing you need. Istanbultower#Turkey#solotrip

Istanbul, Turkey, beautiful country

U.S. And Russia ‘Can’t Stop’ Turkey’s New Syria Incursion Turkey is threatening to kill more U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria — and the United States and Russia might not try very hard to stop it. Turkish President Erdgodan vowed to soon launch a ground attack on U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria, claiming they were responsible for a deadly terrorist attack last week. It’s unclear if it was Kurdish separatists who killed six people in the heart of Istanbul on Nov. 13. The Kurds deny the allegation, after all. But experts say it has presented Erdoğan with a pretext to delve deeper into northern Syria, a push he’s long wanted to do. “Turkey is quite serious about the current Syria offensive,” the Middle East Institute’s and St. Lawrence University’s HOWARD EISSENSTAT told NatSec Daily. “This fits with both long-standing Turkish assumptions about its security interests and Erdoğan’s need to look strong in advance of elections scheduled for June. Under the current circumstances, Russia or the U.S. might be able to impose limits on Turkish actions, but they can’t stop them entirely.” Both Russia and America have reasons to be worried about Turkey launching a ground attack. Russia backs Syrian President BASHAR AL-ASSAD while Turkey supports rebels seeking to topple him. “We understand and respect Turkey’s concerns about ensuring its own security,” Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV told reporters. “At the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to the destabilization of the overall situation.” The U.S. may not resist too strongly since it wants Turkey, a NATO ally, to accept Sweden and Finland’s accession to the alliance. Cagaptay said a Monday State Department statement that barely lambasted Turkey over the violence in Syria was evidence of Washington’s light approach. “I can’t recall any statement that nicely worded about Turkey’s incursion into Syria in a long time,” he said. And Russia is providing millions for Turkey’s economy and energy sector, propping up Erdoğan ahead of next year’s vote. In exchange, experts say Erdoğan may finally accept Assad as Syria’s legitimate ruler, effectively bringing an end to what remains of the war in Syria. If that’s the case, it seems the U.S. and Russia may stand aside as Turkey kills more Kurds — and American allies — in Syria. Source: Politico (https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/11/22/u-s-and-russia-cant-stop-turkeys-new-syria-incursion-00070431 Follow:👇 @G3News t.me/g3news