How NATO Should Pull Turkey Back From The Brink, No Matter The Consequences (Or The Turks)

When Turkey was founded nearly a century ago, its foreign policy goal was 'No problems with our neighbors'. Today, the situation is the opposite.

Since the coup attempt in July 2016, Turkey's foreign relations are at its worst. Ankara's confrontations with Germany, the Netherlands, the European Union, and more recently with the United States have led some to wonder whether the EU and NATO would be better off without Turkey as a member.

James Stravridis claims in his piece that kicking Turkey out of NATO would only make things worse, as Erdogan's government gets closer to Russia and Iran.

What should NATO allies do?

According to Stravridis:

• They should recognize Turkey's fundamental strategic importance beyond its strategic location.
• They should have closer relations with the Turkish government regarding technology transfer, business investments, and humanitarian operations.
• They should encourage geopolitical relationships that keep Turkey closer to the Western world.
• They should get along better with President Erdogan.
• They should promote military-to-military cooperation.

It is true that nobody would benefit from Turkey's rupture with NATO, but defending 'just to get along' with a government that has been criticised by many leaders and human rights organizations sounds a bit harsh.

Stravridis, a former US Navy admiral and current dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, is a bit naive to think that by dancing to Ankara's tune everything will get better.

It also proves, once more, how little international relations and diplomacy care about the people.