Our media is highlighting the news “Turkey is joining BRICS.”
Joining BRICS? Where did that come from?
That was my first reaction to the news.
Then the question, “Is Turkey having serious issues with the U.S. again?” popped into my mind.
This question came to me due to a recent event.
You might remember the troubled period between the U.S. and Turkey—more specifically between U.S. President Donald Trump and President Tayyip Erdoğan—during the months when Pastor Andrew Brunson was held in prison.
Afterward, Trump sent Erdoğan a letter, which was of unprecedented crudeness in the history of correspondence between heads of state.
That was when relations between the two countries hit rock bottom.
While threats continued through letters, Washington placed Turkey and two of its ministers on the sanctions list.
Washington also announced the cancellation of the agreement regarding F-35 jets, a portion of whose parts were being produced by Turkish companies, the pilots’ training had been completed, and the first batch was ready for delivery.
Let me summarize the end of the crisis, which began in September 2016 when Brunson first faced trial and ended in October 2018 when he was released, from a news agency report:
“The Andrew Brunson crisis, which caused one of the tensest periods in U.S.-Turkey relations and led to mutual sanctions between the two countries, was resolved with the release of the American evangelical pastor.”
The summary states “The crisis was resolved,” but the only aspect that was resolved was the pastor’s release from prison. Brunson was taken to the U.S. under the supervision of American politicians and diplomats in a private plane.
With the discomfort from the U.S.’s attitude and realizing that it had been downgraded from the status of ‘most privileged ally’ to ‘worst ally,’ Turkey began to seek alternatives.
And it did so without hiding its intention to put the U.S. in its place…
During the ongoing Brunson crisis, Turkey began to move closer to Russia, and suddenly, on July 25, 2017, Erdoğan announced during an AK Party group meeting that an agreement had been signed with Russia for the purchase of two S-400 defense systems.
I’m sure we all remember the process I’ve described.
For the S-400s, which cost Turkey $2.5 billion, and which led to the country being deprived of the F-35s it was a customer of, having already paid a $1.25 billion down payment, Turkey made the payment and received the first parts on July 12, 2019.
The delivered S-400s are now being stored in a warehouse.
Apparently, it is impossible for a NATO member country to use the defense system of a country—Russia—which is targeted as an ‘enemy’ in all NATO weapons and equipment.
To summarize:
In the dispute between two countries with the largest armies within NATO—Turkey and the U.S.—over a pastor linked to FETÖ and the July 15 coup attempt, undignified letters were exchanged between the leaders, the U.S. imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers, and Turkey was removed from the F-35 jet program. In response to these developments, Turkey purchased a defense system from Russia, but it hasn’t been able to use that system for years.
Moreover, Turkey is now seeking to acquire F-16 jets, which have inferior technology compared to the F-35s, but the U.S. is hesitating even to grant that.
The news about “Turkey joining BRICS,” when viewed against this backdrop, raises the question in my mind: “Is there once again a confrontational atmosphere that we’ve failed to notice?”
The previous confrontational atmosphere was costly for Turkey. We paid $1.25 billion for the F-35s, $2.5 billion for the S-400s we cannot use, and we lost the income from the parts planned to be produced in our country for the F-35 project after we were removed.
I hope this new development will be less costly.
Notes for those interested:
- BRICS is an alliance of nations founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the UAE joining later. If Turkey joins, it will become the ninth member.
- The BRICS Summit that Erdoğan will attend will be held in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24.
- If the U.S. hadn’t canceled it, Turkey would have acquired 116+18 F-35A jets.
[The translation of the article is by ChatGPT.]
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