Erdogan and Putin Have Something to Teach the West
Europe is cozying up to Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan because of concern about how to defend itself with Donald Trump in the White House.
Photographer: Craig Hudson/BloombergTurkey has recently taken a range of steps that together look a lot like a realignment with the West. It reduced imports of Russian oil and natural gas; is considering US and South Korean companies over an existing Russian partner to build a second nuclear power plant; ordered £8 billion ($10.5 billion) worth of Eurofighter jets from the UK; and, through its own major defense companies, signed joint ventures for drone development with Britain’s BAE Systems Plc and Italy’s Leonardo SpA.
But this isn’t Turkey turning West; it’s the West turning toward Turkey, because Donald Trump is in the White House and the Europeans are having a dark night of the soul about how they will arm and defend themselves. Very simply, they now need Turkey at least as much as it needs them.