DIPLOMACY

Admirals assess: Sweden’s membership will complete the West’s stronghold in Europe

Published

17.07.2023 19:25

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the NATO Summit in Vilnius. In a statement released after the trilateral meeting, it was reported that Turkey will refer Sweden’s NATO Accession Protocols to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), while Sweden will support efforts to revitalize Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership process.

As part of this process, Sweden has significantly expanded its counter-terrorism cooperation against the PKK and resumed arms exports to Turkey, in line with all the steps set out in the Trilateral Memorandum agreed in 2022, the statement said, adding that the two countries are working closely together to address Turkey’s legitimate security concerns.

Turkey and Sweden agreed to continue cooperation within the framework of both the Trilateral Permanent Joint Mechanism established at the 2022 Madrid NATO Summit and a new bilateral security mechanism that will meet once every year at the ministerial level and establish appropriate working groups, the statement said:

“At the first meeting of this Security Compact, Sweden will present a roadmap as the basis of its continued fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations towards the full implementation of all elements of the Trilateral Memorandum, including article 4. Sweden reiterates that it will not provide support to YPG/PYD, and the organization described as FETÖ in Türkiye. Both Sweden and Türkiye agreed that counter-terrorism cooperation is a long-term effort, which will continue beyond Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Secretary General Stoltenberg also reconfirmed that NATO categorically condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. NATO will be significantly stepping up its work in this area, including by the Secretary General establishing, for the first time at NATO, the post of Special Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism. We commit to the principle that there should be no restrictions, barriers or sanctions to defence trade and investment among Allies. We will work towards eliminating such obstacles.”

Speaking to Harici, Veteran Counter Admiral Deniz Kutluk and Counter Admiral Dr. Alaettin Sevim evaluated Sweden’s NATO membership.

‘International give-and-take exercise’

Counter Admiral Deniz Kutluk, who stated that NATO’s expansion is remarkable while the war in Ukraine continues, underlined that the center of gravity of the summit was Ukraine and said, “NATO is taking steps in terms of linking aid to Ukraine to a program in NATO and other support elements. There is a question of approving the operation plans prepared by NATO in three regions against Russia’s threats. This issue concerns Turkey closely because one of these three programs includes the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.”

Referring to Turkey’s requests for Sweden’s NATO membership, Kutluk said, “There are articles such as NATO’s support for Turkey’s rapprochement with the European Union and the establishment of a committee for the first time in NATO history by regulating Sweden’s attitudes towards terrorism. If you ask me about the European Union, the two organizations cannot influence each other, so Turkey’s membership in the European Union cannot be very successful. However, Turkey has exercised its right to bring this issue to the agenda. As a result, this is an international give-and-take exercise.”

‘Even if a decision is made, the planes will be delivered at least three years later’

Admiral Kutluk responded to questions about Russia’s stance on this issue and agenda issues such as F-16 fighter jets as follows:

“Sweden’s joining NATO is an issue that Russia does not see as a contradiction. Regarding Sweden and Finland, Russia has stated that it will not affect its relations with the two countries as long as no NATO offensive weapons are deployed. As far as the F-16s are concerned, this is a commercial concept. But it has a production time of three years. So if the decision is made today, the planes will be delivered at least three years later. Therefore, it is not known how Turkish-American relations will be in the next three years. US President Joe Biden has said that they will decide on the F-16 issue by considering the mutual interests of the congress. There is no definite map. But at the end of the day, this is a very large arms purchase deal. The US knows very well that there is no country that has surrendered to embargoes. In fact, in the text of the memorandum of understanding with Sweden in NATO, it is stated that no NATO member will impose economic and military embargoes on each other. It should not be forgotten that this is a clause that also binds the US.”

‘The missing pieces of the West in Europe are being put in place’

(V.) Rear Admiral Dr. Alaettin Sevim stated that Sweden’s membership points to a geo-strategic process and said:

“The missing pieces in Europe are to be put in place and with this membership, the West’s stronghold in Europe will be completed. NATO will emerge as a pillar in the developments in the Arctic Region in the North. On the other hand, NATO’s armament budget is to be increased through armaments at a time when the threat of global recession is increasing. The Russia issue is important here. A new process for an arms race to wear Russia down may begin. It was thought that the Soviet Union collapsed due to its inability to manage its economy well. We may face a new application of this event. Because, when we read prominent Western writers, it is clear that there are ideas in favor of Russia’s disintegration.

The issue of entry into the European Union was brought up at the last moment. Other countries in the bloc have also expressed that Sweden’s entry into NATO and Turkey’s entry into the EU are different issues. Therefore, it would not be reasonable to expect progress on this issue. Maybe Turkey can be supported by providing more economic aid to Turkey in the refugee issue.”

‘Russia will take its measures’

“The most important progress on Turkey’s demands could be on the modernization of the F-16s. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said before the summit that they are prioritizing the congress on the F-16 issue, but what will our parliament say about it? This discourse paints a picture like this: If progress is made in the US on the F-16 issue, Turkey’s parliament will make as much progress with the US.

To summarize the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland, I think it is an important step for NATO to close the gaps in Europe. The contribution of Sweden’s arms industry to NATO should be taken into consideration. Of course, to a certain extent, these countries have to make certain investments in NATO armaments. There will be economic aspects related to this. Russia will also have to take certain measures. This could be challenging for the Russian economy. On the map, Russia will have to think more about NATO’s borders, which are moving closer to Russian bases. The Polyarny base, the most important Russian ballistic submarine missile base, is very close to Finland. And more than half of Russia’s submarines with ballistic missiles are based there. Russia will take measures in this regard.”

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DIPLOMACY

US overtakes China as Germany’s biggest trading partner

Published

4 days ago

10/05/2024

Harici.com.tr

The United States overtook China as Germany’s most important trading partner in the first quarter of this year, according to Reuters calculations based on official data from the Federal Statistical Office.

According to the data, Germany’s trade with the United States, the sum of exports and imports, totalled 63 billion euros ($68 billion) in the January-March period, while the figure for China was just under 60 billion euros.

With a volume of 253 billion euros, China was Germany’s largest trading partner for the eighth time in a row, a few hundred million dollars ahead of the US.

“While German exports to the US continued to rise due to the strong economy there, both exports to and imports from China fell,” said Commerzbank economist Vincent Stamer, explaining the change in the first quarter.

“China has moved up the value chain and is increasingly producing more complex goods itself, which it used to import from Germany. German companies are also increasingly producing locally instead of exporting goods from Germany to China,” Stamer said.

Germany has said it wants to reduce its trade with China, citing political differences and accusing Beijing of “unfair practices”. But Berlin has yet to take any major steps towards a policy of reducing dependency.

German imports of goods from China fell by almost 12 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, while German exports to China fell by just over 1 per cent, according to Juergen Matthes of the German economic institute IW.

“The fact that the US economy exceeded expectations, while the Chinese economy performed worse than many had hoped, probably contributed to this,” Matthes said.

Sales to the US currently account for around 10 percent of German goods exports. China’s share, on the other hand, has fallen below 6 per cent, Matthes said.

On the other hand, Dirk Jandura, head of the BGA trade association, said: “If the White House administration changes after the US elections in November and moves further in the direction of closing markets, this process could come to a standstill,” pointing out that the trend of Germany’s trade route shifting across the Atlantic could stop.

DIPLOMACY

BOTAŞ signs LNG deal with ExxonMobil

Published

5 days ago

09/05/2024

Harici.com.tr

Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said state-owned gas network operator BOTAŞ signed an LNG trade agreement with ExxonMobil on Wednesday in a bid to diversify its sources.

Bayraktar said in a statement on social media platform X: “The US is one of the important countries from which we already receive LNG. With this agreement, which is intended to be long-term, we will take another step towards diversifying our resources,” Bayraktar said, adding that the agreement was signed in Washington.

Noting that Turkey is among the few countries in the world with its gasification capacity, the minister said, “We will continue to contribute to the energy security of our country and our region.

Bayraktar gave no further details of the deal. The energy ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In an interview with the Financial Times in late April, Bayraktar said Turkey wanted to “build a new supply portfolio” in energy procurement and said it was in talks with US fossil fuel giant Exxon Mobil for 2.5 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth about $1.1 billion.

Bayraktar said Turkey was also in talks with other US natural gas producers for LNG deals, stressing that Turkey wanted to “diversify” its natural gas supplies before some of its contracts with Russia expire in 2025 and with Iran in 2026.

In addition to Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Turkey imports LNG from Algeria, Qatar, the US and Nigeria.

Russia is the country’s largest gas supplier. Last year, more than 40 per cent of its consumption was met with gas from that country.

DIPLOMACY

The World Bank’s ‘climate plan’: More expensive meat and dairy, cheaper chicken and vegetables

Published

6 days ago

08/05/2024

Harici.com.tr

A new paper published by the World Bank suggests that the billions of dollars spent by rich countries on CO2-intensive products such as red meat and dairy products should be redirected towards more ‘climate-friendly’ options such as poultry, fruit and vegetables.

The bank argues that this is one of the most cost-effective ways to save the planet from ‘climate change’.

According to POLITICO, the ‘politically sensitive’ proposal is one of several the World Bank has put forward to reduce pollution from the agriculture and food sector, which it says is responsible for nearly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

We have to stop destroying the planet while we feed ourselves,’ Julian Lampietti, the World Bank’s director of global practice for agriculture and food, told POLITICO.

The work comes at a strategic diplomatic moment, as signatories to the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius prepare to update their climate plans by the end of 2025.

While the world needs to accelerate emissions cuts to meet the Paris Agreement’s goals, the World Bank wants officials to pay more attention to the agriculture and food sector, which it says has long been neglected and underfunded.

To be serious about achieving zero emissions by 2050 – a common goal for developed economies – countries need to invest $260 billion a year in these sectors, the report says. That is 18 times more than countries are currently investing.

The World Bank argues that governments could partially close this gap by redirecting subsidies for red meat and dairy towards lower-carbon alternatives. The Bank argues that this shift is one of the most cost-effective ways for rich countries to reduce demand for highly polluting foods, which are estimated to produce around 20 per cent of global agri-food emissions.

As a result, the climate impact will be reflected in the cost of food, he adds.

Full-cost pricing of animal-based foods to reflect their true planetary costs would make low-emissions food options more competitive,” the report says, suggesting that switching to plant-based diets could save twice as much planet-warming gases as other methods.

Meat and dairy production account for nearly 60 percent of agri-food emissions, according to the World Bank.

Lampietti warns against focusing too much on “what not to do” and suggests paying more attention to “what to do”. Food is a ‘deeply personal choice’, Lampietti said, adding that he fears the debate, which should be data-driven, could turn into a culture war.

The biggest concern is that people start using this as a political football,” he said.