Is Turkey abandoning NATO or vice versa?
Some Turks view NATO’s aloofness regarding the coup attempt as a sign it is fatigued by Turkey's continual crises.
A piece I wrote in October 2014 titled “Is NATO membership shackling Turkey?” was about the Turkish public opinion debate over NATO. Today's article asks whether NATO might find Turkey's membership burdensome.
There is a growing perception in Turkey that NATO has been apathetic in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt and hasn't shown the appropriate concern a member of the alliance deserves.
People wonder whether this silence means NATO is giving up on Turkey. Although belated and half-hearted support messages from NATO have surfaced recently, a perusal of foreign media shows a perceptible increase in comments that Turkey-NATO ties have weakened and — especially since the Aug. 9 summit between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin — this relationship is now in crisis. Some comments even suggest this may be the time for NATO to expel Turkey.
In Turkey, these comments are generally interpreted as NATO distancing itself from Turkey.
