Erdogan Turkish wants to be a soldier of peace in Ukraine and a power in Europe

The message that Europeans hear among Turkish officials today are surprising that anyone is shocked by US President Donald Trumps the revisionist foreign policy. For Turkey, the United States has never been a reliable friend. But there is also little trace of Schadenfreude. The prospect of prevailing America offering Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin and destroying it from NATO is as disturbing for Turkey as for the European Union and the United Kingdom.

But Turkish decision -makers also consider the crisis in progress as an opportunity to reset links with Europe. Turkey has openly faltering its muscles in the Middle East, where the fall of the Assad diet in Syria has improved its influence. But it also becomes discreetly more aware of itself as a key part of European security.

The message that Europeans hear among Turkish officials today are surprising that anyone is shocked by US President Donald Trumps the revisionist foreign policy. For Turkey, the United States has never been a reliable friend. But there is also little trace of Schadenfreude. The prospect of prevailing America offering Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin and destroying it from NATO is as disturbing for Turkey as for the European Union and the United Kingdom.

But Turkish decision -makers also consider the crisis in progress as an opportunity to reset links with Europe. Turkey has openly faltering its muscles in the Middle East, where the fall of the Assad diet in Syria has improved its influence. But it also becomes discreetly more aware of itself as a key part of European security.

There are early signs of an in -depth security conversation between the team of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans and its European counterparts. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended the Ukraine emergency summit convened by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on March 2, two days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky clashed with Trump and US vice-president JD Vance at the White House. Turkey is part of the coalition of willingly directed by Starmer and the French president Emmanuel Macron.

After a summit on March 6 organized by the EU, Erdogan reported that Turkish troops could possibly be deployed in Ukraine. Last week, military leaders of more than 30 countries had talks in Paris to discuss the security of Ukraines and the possibility of an idea of ​​international peacekeeping forced by France and the United Kingdom Erdogan also feeds links with other key countries. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was in Ankara on March 12 Discuss Ukraine and European security.

Admittedly, it is still early, and the form and mission of a force led by Europe remains wrapped in uncertainty. Lots of rest on continuous efforts to convince Putin to accept a ceasefire. However, if a kind of agreement is concluded, Turkey could play a major role in making it stick. Having extended the firm support to Ukraine since the start of Russia to a large -scale invasion in 2022, but also kept links with Russia and even having directed mediation efforts, the military presence of the turkeys would probably be acceptable for both parties. While Moscow was unleashed at the idea of ​​European peacekeepers, he was silent in Turkey.

Can Turkey do peace work? There is a reason to think so. The last decade has seen Ankara send troops to various other countries, such as Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan. In the first two cases, he even moved with Russia military or regular proxies like the Wagner group. In Syria, Turkish forces ended up directing joint patrols with the Russian army also, in order to control a fragile peace around Idlib. In other words, Turkey has accumulated significant experience in conflict management with Russia. Erdogan and Putin, as well as their superior brass, exchanged punches but also sat at the negotiation table to create solutions.

Turkey now hopes that security cooperation with Europe in Ukraine could manage in the European Turkish relationship. This could involve a wider security partnership based on the content of Russia and the stability of subscription in Europe. But the Turks also wish to negotiate an update of their customs union in 1995. Like Europes from other business partners, Turkey has adapted to European commissions Green Deal and adopted legislation in accordance with EU environmental standards to guarantee unhindered access to the single market. But that would finally like an expansion of the commercial services which he currently enjoys.

The current customs Union arrangement covers industrial goods and has been beneficial for the growth of trade and investment links between the EU and Turkey. It continues to stimulate growth led by exports at a time when the Turkish economy has difficulty. However, for Turkey to develop more and performs the transition to a knowledge -based model, avoiding the proverbial intermediate income trap, the services sector must also be included.

Defense industries are also part of the puzzle. While Europe is preparing to accelerate military spending, Turkish companies such as Elsan or Baykar, which manufactures the Bayraktar drone, would like to take advantage. Baykar and Leonardo, a main Italian company, recently set up a joint venture focused on artificial intelligence and unmanned platforms. The Turkish defense sector will be eager to draw from the defense funds collected jointly by the EU on the bond markets, a proposal which is still a question of fervent debate in Brussels. Whether money should only be directed to EU manufacturers, a position favored by Paris or open to third countries is also of crucial importance for Turkey.

Finally, Turkish officials would also like to move forward on the liberalization of visas, a painful place in the global relationship of the EU-Turkey. The 2016 refugee agreement of which Turkey receives billions of euros in exchange to accommodate nearly 4 million Syrians originally linked to a promise to allow Turkish nationals to more easily obtain Schengen visas. However, little progress has been made since then. Currently, millions of Turks who had special travel travel passengers without a visa. But all the others have to wait for the long lines and provide the volumes of paperwork to get to the EU. At the same time, all the other candidates of the EU Countriessuch than Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovan enter the EU without restriction.

Ankara would prefer that re-engagement with Europe is a package, not a single-off simply involving Ukraine. To make progress, Erdogan should remove an old shiboboleth: that belonging to the EU is an objective. The membership talks have been in a standstill for more than 15 years now. Turkeys Authorititaire Drift with the arrest this week of the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu offers the latest evidence and fears of migration in Europe have long killed the process. In private, Turkish politicians accept this reality and are ready to move on as their past acrimony wears out.

Instead, a privileged form of partnership that European Christian Democrats envisaged for Turkey years ago as an alternative to membership are now underway. Access to an in -depth European customs union could be a pillar. Security collaboration, in Ukraine but also on issues such as defense purchases or the reconstruction of Syria, could be another.

Going from a candidate to a partner does not necessarily be equivalent to a his his his his his his his his his his hiso roats. With the United Kingdom, another strategically important country which outside the EU, Turkey does not need to feel like a member of the second-order club. Whatever the weather, Ankara is a high -level actor of NATO as well as the European political community which should hold its annual summit in Albania on May 16.

Going beyond the enlargement paradigm is not free. The EU will not be empowered to hold Turkey responsible for the failure of the domination of the rule of law and democratic standards. This includes respect for the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the Historical case of PhilanthropE Osman Kavala.

However, realistically, the EU has long lost its lever effect on domestic policy in Türkiye. A return to full -fledged democracy depends on citizens and elites, and not on conditionality. But in the midst of fate and sadness, there are a few glimmer of hope: the loss of Erdogans in the local elections of Turkeys 2024 and, more recently, the potential end of the conflict in the southeast province countries populated by the countries.

Faced with Putin and Trump, Europe is reconfigured. It is a chance for Turkey to become a full -fledged member of the Europes Club under a new set of rules. He should not let the opportunity waste.