Turkey: more than just a host for Nato?
Turkey is pulling out all the stops as host of the Nato summit in Ankara. The reception for Donald Trump was particularly lavish. The US President had previously hinted that he was attending the summit solely because of his 'friend' Erdoğan. The media take it as a cue to assess the role Turkey plays for both the US and Europe.
Trump needs Erdoğan's support
Avvenire questions the rapport between the US and Turkish presidents at the Nato summit:
“Erdoğan is probably the only leader who need not fear the wrath of Donald Trump. On the contrary. ... Yet relations between the two haven't always been idyllic by any means. ... This raises the question of why the POTUS is now being so nice to Erdoğan. The answer is obvious: in a turbulent Middle East, where American influence is waning and there is no end in sight to the violence and massacres, Trump needs a 'support' to help him remain politically relevant.”
Don't play along
Europe should stop being so naive about Erdoğan, Der Spiegel warns:
“Yes, Turkey is a regional power with a sphere of influence that stretches from Asia to Africa. ... But that is no reason for Europeans to offer themselves to Erdoğan as partners. The argument that Europe needs Turkey if it wants to be a geopolitical player ignores the fact that the same Erdoğan is undermining the West's sanctions on Russia by doing a roaring trade with Vladimir Putin; that he has openly threatened Turkey's neighbour and fellow Nato member Greece with war; and that he has offered a safe haven to Hamas terrorists. ... Erdoğan wants to turn the Nato summit into an Erdoğan show. But there is no reason why the Europeans should play along.”
Huge military and diplomatic potential
Latvijas Avīze takes a look at how important Turkey is for Nato:
“When Turkey joined Nato in 1952, the other member states found it interesting mainly because of its geostrategic location – right next to the USSR, on the border between Europe and Asia, controlling the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. ... Now that assessment is changing. Turkey has almost half a million soldiers on active duty (excluding reservists), making it Nato's second-largest army after the US. ... Equally important is Turkey's diplomatic expertise, which it has demonstrated by mediating in the Ukraine conflict, in the conflict between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, before that in Syria and during Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”