How will S-400 affair affect Turkish-NATO ties?
Calls for Turkey to be expelled from NATO or for Turkey to leave NATO are not realistic, say experts.
Turkey and the United States are on a collision course over Ankara’s decision to buy Russian-made S-400 anti-missile defense systems. The question is how this will affect Turkey’s relationship with NATO, of which it has been a member for the past 67 years.
For over a year now, American neocons, in particular, have been pushing the notion of expelling Turkey from NATO over its efforts to develop military ties with Russia.
They argue that Ankara’s cozying up to Moscow puts its adherence to NATO’s core principles into doubt and makes it more of a foe than an ally. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s blatantly anti-American rhetoric has merely added grist to the mill of those who think along these lines.
This hard-line position has its counterpart in Turkey too, especially among ultra-nationalist circles. These maintain that NATO membership has lost its meaning for Turkey because it no longer provides support to Ankara against its mortal enemies.
