President Erdoğan's role at NATO summit draws worldwide attention, efforts on Sweden's membership noted

The echoes of the NATO summit, considered as the most important meeting of 2023, continue.

Türkiye's actions left a mark on the summit, which was followed minute by minute by the world.

As a result of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's efforts to greenlight Sweden's NATO membership, a declaration highlighting terrorism was issued.

The declaration emphasized that combating terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is essential for collective defense. Terrorism was rejected without conditions and condemned in the strongest possible terms.

Foreign Policy, which scrutinizes Türkiye's foreign policy, presented a noteworthy analysis titled 'What Does Türkiye Actually Want?' The American publication pointed out that Erdoğan's steps at the NATO summit might be surprising to an ordinary observer, and made the following assessment: "The truth is that throughout Erdoğan's era, Türkiye has been consistent in pursuing three key foreign policy ideas: strategic independence, power, and prosperity."

In the article by Steven A. Cook, it was highlighted that this can also be seen in Türkiye's relationship with Russia. The author stated, "Ankara did not allow Russia's attack on Ukraine to disrupt bilateral relations with Moscow," indicating Türkiye's desire to establish its independence and enhance its prestige.

The article emphasized that Türkiye has maintained its bilateral relations with both Russia and Ukraine, stating, "This allowed Türkiye to negotiate the Black Sea Grain Agreement between Russia and Ukraine."

The publication concluded, "All of this brings us back to Vilnius. The reason for Erdoğan's steps at the NATO summit is that it offers a significant opportunity to pursue Türkiye's long-term project of establishing independence and power. Erdoğan does not want Türkiye to be treated merely as a security presence on the southeastern flank of Europe.

If Erdoğan can manage to extract from Biden a commitment to provide Türkiye with new F-16s and persuade EU leaders to renew cooperation with Türkiye, this could potentially lead to an advanced customs union agreement."