Why is Turkey, a NATO member, moving closer to BRICS? – Kashmir Observer

ByHaider Abbas

The attack on the headquarters of a defense company in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on October 23 could never have occurred at such a serious time, when its President Taiyyip Erdogan, currently visiting the Russian city of Kazan is at the lowest point in its history. popularity. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya PKK members said were likely responsible for an attack on Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSA), in which five people were killed and 22 injured. The PKK is the Kurdish Workers' Party, a terrorist organization banned in Türkiye, the European Union and the United States. The next day, Turkey retaliated by attacking PKK targets 32. The PKK does not take responsibility for this.

The attack, as any defense analyst can easily assert, can never take place until there is internal sabotage, otherwise how is it that attackers can extend multiple layers of security? The same thing, of course, happened following the murders of Qasim Suliemani (Iranian general), Mohsin Faqrizade (Iranian nuclear scientist), Ibrahim Raisi (Iranian president), Ismail Hannieh (Hamas president), Fawad Shukr ( general of Hezbollah). ), Hasan Nasrullah (President of Hezbollah), Hashim Saif-ud-Din (President of Hezbollah), Yahya Sinwar (President of Hamas), the list is endless. Added to this is the revenge assassination of Colonel Ahsan Daqsa of Israel by Hamas after the death of Yahya Sinwar. Either it was the internal informant or intelligence provided to Hamas by Russia. A war has raged between Palestinian Hamas and Israel since October 7, 2023. Around 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel and almost all of Gaza has been razed by Israeli forces. Israel is currently engaged in a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Throughout the last year, Taiyyip Erdogan has played second fiddle to world powers and has been able to do little, despite the rhetoric against the Palestinians, which has obviously lowered his popularity in his country as well as in the Muslim world as a whole. . No wonder his party has already lost Istanbul's local elections in March 2024, indicating that political change in Türkiye is on the anvil. Why is Taiyyip Erdogan in such a difficult situation? He wanted Arab nations to mobilize against Israel, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, but his call found no response. Ironically, this is because Palestine was part of the former Turkish Ottoman Empire and therefore Turkey has direct interests inside Palestine. Arab nations looked the other way, leaving Palestine and Turkey, the proverbial sick man of Europe, with the stick of NATO expulsion still hanging over their heads.

Despite the contrasting features of Erdogan's position towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him a butcher of Gaza or compared him to Adolf Hitler, the so-called trade ban with Israel remained absolutely ineffective. Turkish exports to Israel via Greece saw a significant increase, even as Israel reduced Gaza to rubble. A detailed report on Thecradle.Co is accessible for all. It is also a known fact that Israel, as apprehended by Erdogan, is likely to attack Turkey next, but Turkey has not been able, throughout the year, to stand alongside the Palestinians, like Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Ansar-ul-Lah in Yemen or by groups supported by Iran in Syria and Iraq. It is very recent in public memory that Turkey openly supported Israel, Azerbaijan's great ally, in its war against Armenia, while Iran and Russia sided with the latter.

Embattled Erdogan has now rushed to attend the BRICS summit and share the stage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping, the two giant nations, drawn into the race to dedollarize the global economy . The younger cousin of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE King Sheikh Zayed Bin Nahyan, participated in the same with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A new stage as anti-NATO and anti-American QUAD is being built. India, here too, is in a balancing act, as Putin shook hands with Xi Jinping and Modi, after five years, all as the United States and its ally the European Union looked on. India benefited immensely from the Russo-Ukrainian War as Russia supplied India with its oil at heavily discounted rates, leading to an equilibrium in oil prices across the world.

Obviously, much to the chagrin of the United States and its allies like Canada, Australia, etc., India's presence in the BRICS has made the West's shoulders cold, and that is the main reason for the dispute between Canada and India, as Canada accused. the alleged involvement of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in the murder of Hardeep Singh Najjar in Canada and the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannum in the United States. Canada and India withdrew their respective ambassadors.

But a new surprise has also appeared? The United States and Israel, as the United States' largest ally in the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have begun to engage in joint military exercises with Iran. The rare military exercises took place after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this month and his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, indicating an improvement in relations between the two oil-producing countries. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2016 after the Saudi Kingdom executed an influential Shiite cleric who criticized the kingdom and resumed diplomatic relations in April 2024.

Will this joint gesture between Saudi Arabia and Iran remain symbolic or will it transform to have a substantial impact on the region's geostrategic policy? Israel is eager to launch an attack on Iran, which will most likely be retaliated against, this time in proportionate terms, which will aim to further catapult the entire region into a larger war. If there is to be a changing of the guard in the United States, after the November 4 election, and Donald Trump wins, perhaps things will change to stay the same.

• The writer is a former UP State Information Commissioner and writes on issues of national and global interest for Kashmir Observer.

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