TURKEY | Erdogan's Western Return? 

Turkey NEVER will join EU ,and you as me you do know this well...

​@@dand7763Because it will open up the floodgates with all the people wanting to immigrate to western europe.

I would like to translate your videos in Romanian and then send the subtitle file to you so that you cand add it to your videos. How can I send you the file?

Ich denke Erdogan hat den Druck auf die Türkei reduziert. Er steht nicht mehr als Bösewicht innerhalb der NATO dar. Vor allem seine Aufforderung die Ukraine in die NATO aufzunehmen, ist ein cleverer Schachzug. Damit sind die Amerikaner und andere westliche Länder die Bösen, die die Ukraine diesbezüglich nicht unterstützen. Für die Aufgabe seiner Position gegen Schweden hat er im Gegenzug hat er einige Dinge versprochen bekommen. Er hat dennoch nichts zugesagt, außer dem türkische Parlament den Beschluß vorzulegen. Das wird frühestens in etwa 10 Wochen passieren. Er wird genau das Verhalten der Schweden und der USA beobachten und danach handeln. Die USA verweisen bei den Kapfflugzeugen auf den Kongress das macht Erdogan jetzt auch in dem er für die Mitgliedschaft von Schweden in der NATO auf das türkische Parlament verweist. Dass das türkische Parlament dem zustimmt ist nach meiner Ansicht keinesfalls sicher. Ich würde im Augenblick nicht darauf wetten, daß das türkische Parlament dem ohne weiteres zustimmt. Erdogan hat dort im Parlament schwierige Partner in seinem Parteienbündnis (MHP). Die Türkei traut den Amerikanern nicht und wird auch den Prozeß für den Kauf der F16 Kampfflugzeuge genau verfolgen. Für mich ist der Beitritt von Schweden zur NATO keinesfalls eine beschlossene Sache, zumindest noch nicht. DieTürkei wird niemals Mitglied der EU, das weiß Erdogan sehr genau aber mit seinem Vorschlag setzt er die EU unter Druck und will die Zollunion ausweiten und Visafreiheit für türkische Bürger. Bevor das alles passiert, wird Schweden der NATO nicht beitreten können. Die Türkei hat auf jeden Fall Zeit gewonnen und kann den Prozeß weiterhin verzögern. Wenn er ohne diese Zusagen von der EU und der USA diesen Beschluß durch das türkische Parlament bringen will, wird er scheitern.

How would the EU feel if the proposed Turkic block is ever actually brought about? Turkey are clearly looking for trade partners and relationships. They also have oil n gas development plans , global munitions trade and control of critical shipping routes. Time to stop stalling and bring them in to the fold before other options become more appealing economically.

Thanks. I agree. Joining requires too many complex and uncomfortable changes. Erdogan would prefer to keep the talks going, but aim for other things, as you say.

@@JamesKerLindsay i agree

Visa-free access to the EU, even if for just 30 days at a time, in parity with the Balkan countries would be seen as a huge achievement, even by Erdogan haters in Turkey. But I can't see anyone managing it for Turkey in the near future. The Balkans countries are tiny compared to Turkey's population.

I can´t see Visa free travel to be offered for Turkey.

@@Siranoxz unlikely for all but Turkey does have a "special passport" which has much better access including visa free to EU. I could see something similar which would be more expanded and open to more people in society. Those more likely to be "trusted" e.g. with a degree or a high level job. Difficult to manage but since it's kind of already been done something similar might happen again. On EU side they could grant to Turkish citizens with other residency. Or at the least simplified processes for those people with trusted citizenship/residency - e.g. UK, US. Mexico already does this for UK residency permits and it would still be a vote winner for Erdogan since they get to vote in Turkish elections

I'm 100% convinced James knows more about geopolitics than many of today's political leaders.

@@bilic8094 I mean, he IS a professor.

@@falsevacuum4667 well many people say they're profesers that's not what I go by you could tell he knows his stuff I first heard about James in the 90's during the yugoslav wars and I haven't heard a bad word about him sure he leans sides on issues but we all do.

@@bilic8094 Some politicians literally boast about how little they know of geopolitics. Sadly, many voters deliberately support populist politicians who are intentionally ignorant.

@@falsevacuum4667 Not all professors are the same. Many are simply green haired activists.

Yes, this is looking more and more like a standoff. Apparently, the vote might not go before the Turkish parliament until October.

just this summarized it completely

Meanwhile Orban is just happy Erdogan is taking all the heat off of him

@@holyfordus orban's country is member of Turkic union.Orban and Erdogan act together

@@veritasvirtuslibertas3787 nope, Hungary is an observer not a member.

exactly . Just some people like big headlines

Erdogan fully understands the nature of Turkeys relationship with the WEST which is transactions in essence. The west on the other hand is not comfortable with an assertive Turkey

@Legiion513. This is 100 percent true. The idea of Turkey being a staunch ally of the west is not really possible, that ship sailed a while ago. This relationship reminds me of domestic violence. You can only beat your partner an X amount of times before she decides look for other avenues. That is essentially what Turkey is in it's relationship with the west. The batter partnered who isn't going to forget so easily.

@@williamdavis9562 While I agree with your take on Turkey, I feel like this is a very Western interpretation of things. From Turkey's perspective, there's likely a lot to dislike about the West's actions recently. There's obviously the US support for Kurds causing issues with Turkish internal security. There's also the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, which destabilized their backyard. Basically, from each side's perspective, the other looks like the abuser. And I'm saying this as an American.

@@wlee9888 Same here, I'm an American who spent considerable amounts of time in that country. The way things are framed are sometimes so detached from reality it makes my head spin. Not just Turkey though, that is simply the nature of our globalist media. You use them as a source for most issues around the globe you'll be fed some rather strange narratives, highlighting some facts but leaving out some very big ones. Watching the media coverage on the Ukraine war reminds me of this. So a lot of these analysis videos on youtube are done in good faith, the issue arises due to the narratives they're fed by the vast majority of sources controlled by the globalist cabal. You rarely walk away from it thinking you learned something new, it's essentially half truths. As many of said, we live in a post truth era. Narratives matter more than reality. Many people I talk to about Turkey here in the west simply don't understand how deep Turkey's anger really goes. I'll hear things like "oh we if we XYZ we'll bring them back in the fold." And I'm like "nope, they'll never really join the fold ever again."

@@wlee9888 oh please do you know anything about Turkish history? One of the worst human rights records on earth, for the past 100 years, and that excludes everything they did before people started keeping record of these things. The idea a country like Turkey would talk about terrorists and complain about them is beyond me. They can’t even get themselves to admit the Armenian genocide, they can’t even admit to themselves that they have no free media, they can’t even admit to themselves that they have a dictator, they can’t even admit to themselves that their president &#@ them over and left thousands of them dying under an earthquake because he’s too much of a crook, and he endorses theft. And they still managed to vote him right back in. Turkey is the elephant in the room that everyone is politely dancing around.

​@@brckbsrnThe issues with Greece and Kurds are 100% of Turkey's own making.

When you have so many conflict zones around you it's not easy that's why I say being the president of Russia must be the hardest job in the world.

@@brckbsrn The maritime borders between Greece and Turkey are well established, yet Turkey disputes them for possible gain

@@mv_5878 maritime zone between greeks and the turks is a joke and we will dispute that until Greece and EU gives in. things may not sort out in our life time so don't hold your breath, after all, we just started our military industrial sector.

@@osmanisildak2448 Nah, the West will eventually overpower the underdeveloped Turks, unless Erdogan bankrupts you first.

Thanks. I think you are right. This isn't paying off so well for Putin. But this simply could be because of the dire state of the Turkish economy rather than principle. In that regard, Orban is looking like a better bet.

@JamesKerLindsay Hullo Mr.James . ! Sir , I understant that I interfere a lot ,in those sides , repeating myself , but, Sir , you have to realize that as a Cypriot , seen my country suffering is just too much ..for me , !

turkey sent the tb2 s before russian invasion (germany sent 5000 helmets btw 😂) which helped ukraine to hold the line until the western help arrives. for 2 weeks, there were just bayraktars and blood of brave ukrainen soldiers. all i m saying is turkey was, is and will be the one of top supporters of ukraine. turkey relies so much on russian money, and never go against russia until the west help them solve the economic issues. do not expect turkey to turn on russia while west treating turkey like sh.t. ( do not forget 10 mil refugees turkey hold, to keep europe happy)

Russia is not the west. They don’t play- I expect you or I order you card when it is not about their security. I am not sure you understand Putin well. He never travelled to Africa blackmailing leaders on money to pay for aid or gas to conform to their way of thinking. He did not travel to teach leaders about what a woman is or what who they should do business with. Unlike the west, blackmailing on food and aid to conform to their way of thinking. Putin had no expectations. Russian way of thinking is - what I think no one in the west understand- at the end we only have ourselves, it’s about counting on ourselves in life. That’s all.

Europeans are less tolerant now of Muslims than they were back in the 2000s (and frankly, vice versa). The idea that this would ever happen is crazy, I agree with you.

​​@@dunnowy123r maybe because Turkey Is an expansionist power which occupies EU territory? Well get Albania as It Is sooner or later but this kind of Turkey? Hell no

​@@thereita1052What is "EU territory?" LOL I don't think the occupation of norther Cyprus is the reason Europeans don't want Turkey in the club

@@dunnowy123 exept it was the reason talks to join the EU stopped lol? Cyprus has the Power to keep Turkey away from the EU until the sun dies. Heck even the Turkish "mission" in Syria Is enought to stop the acession not to count the unrecognized crimes against humanity during ww1

half of turkey is european and other half is middle eastern/central asian

Thank LocalLt. Turkey seems to keep us all busy. It’s such a fascinating country, in so many ways. It will be interesting to see the direction this latest turn eventually takes! I hope all is well at your end.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

All in on Russia? Are you Greek or blind?

The man is two faced. Both sides know that. Only a matter of time before Erdogan runs out of luck in his poker game he is playing between two sides. Turkey economy is in deep do do! and he just about won the elections shows the mess he is heading in. Patience with him from all sides is fraying. the east do not trust him or his word and neither does the West.

There is nothing really going on between Türkiye and Greece besides Greece prime minister trying to cover its internal issues by targeting Türkiye.

@@canerulu-wu7ezthink you’re misspelling turkey bro, also does turkeys desire for the agaen not register with Turks as a possible issue for Greece?

​@@canerulu-wu7ezTurkey has major issues, the only country in nato without sanctions to Putin... Erdogan is trying to cover his double face! 😅😅😅

It’s 🦃🦃

@@canerulu-wu7ez Turkey is the destabiliser in Middle East.

Nobody was fleeing Iraq or Syria before USA "visit". And Libya is next door (and boat ride) to Italy and Greece. But problem is that in EU nationalism is on the rise, and any expansion, especially with large Muslim country faces strong popular resistance. Explore how goes with ascension processes of various West Balkan countries and it will give some examples...

@@mladenmatosevic4591 I concur but it's besides the point. The US did what it did, now the rest of the world pays for their hubris. But before these invasions this always was a problematic neighborhood, do you honestly think people would not have been fleeing Iraq if it bordered a European Türkiye? In any case med to long term the issue of human migration will only get worse with climate change, which is why I wonder why anyone would want to grant Türkiye membership. It seems that would further empower right wing nationalists

@@electrosyzygy 50 or even just 25 years ago nobody saw neighborhood as key problem why Turkey cannot be member of EU, otherwise accession talks would not have been started. And "climate change" is straw man argument in this discussion. Main reason for opposition to enlargement is "diluting key values". As is now obvious, in many countries which carried feudalism to 19th sentury, many people believe that cheating system (meaning state) is acceptable and that behaviour is not limited to top level business owners. Carrying gifts to doctors and public officials was common in Ottoman Empire too, and Balkans was long time part of it. As it goes, it starts as small and innocent but ends up on large values. And if you wanted to ask, in Russian Empire was same behaviour, long before Bolsheviks...

@@mladenmatosevic4591 I'm not sure what you mean about the culture of nepotism and corruption in the Ottoman and Russian empires. Also unsure about the relevance of what we're talking about. And I strongly disagree with your statement about the Middle East not being seen as problematic 50 years ago. 50 years ago the region was rife with conflict, there had been a few wars with more on the way, and Baathism was morphing I to authoritarianism. I do understand that nationalists use 'values' as an argument when dealing with Muslim nations. That's not what I'm concerned with. Simply, rationally, what does Türkiye bring to the table that Europe can't otherwise get? My contention is that Türkiye as it is now, let alone what things will be like in a few years, is probably not worth the trouble for many reasons but I'm curious what Prof JKL thinks. Expanding Europe and Schengen to the Middle East would accelerate migration and facilitate human trafficking, further straining European finances, and you can be sure this will enhance right-wing and fascicizing political parties.

@@electrosyzygy EU functions as lose confederation so close supervision from centre does not exist and in culture of corruption muney from funds are sucked by corruption network regardless of project quality, so money is spend inefficiently. As for expansion 50 years ago people leading EU envisioned endless expansion. It would take too long to discuss why. Realistically, EU must absorb West Balkans and maybe Moldova. Everything else means huge border and other complications with less gain then even Turkey.

The thing is Erdogan gave his word publicly that Sweden will join NATO soon. Erdogan is a man of his words, so if parliament goes against him that makes him look weak.

@@bruceli9094 That goes both ways. Erdogan and Turkiye were promised things as well. Both parties can play that game. If you think everything is set in stone, you are mistaken. They are still bargianing, publicly.

@@emreus1 The thing is, it doesn't go both ways. The other party has fulfilled what was agreed upon (as also stated by the NATO secretary general). They have also early on stated openly some things they cannot agree to (which was not in the deal) because of fundamental laws. So yeah, no. It doesn't go both ways. I hope Erdogan publically keeps breaking deals and ask for more handouts/bribes.

Yes. You are correct. They will do something that will piss off the western countries inevitably.

Thank you so much. Yes, I couldn't resist!

by EU recognizing the sovereign northern turkish Cyprus.

I have long advocated a settlement. And it will be needed before Turkey could ever hope to join. But we have a framework for a solution. A bizonal, bicommunal federation. However, this requires agreement by both communities.

​@osmanisildak2448 How this could happen? The north part of Cyprus is occupied by Turkey since 1974 MILITARY OCCUPIED AREAS

@@andrigeogiou8420 You mean the SAFETY AREA of Undepended North Cyprus for sure. As a result of permanent greek attacks in the past. Did they excuse already?

@christkoenigweg A result of permanent attacks ,from the BAD Greeks ..! well .. you need to learn more about of what really happened . Ask and Mr.James ,about .. The Turkish Cypriots, they actually took the arms against their own state. Against our common state , the Republic of Cyprus , back from 1963 -67 , following instructions from Turkey. How ,you think , even Today , the nation of Turkey ,deals with the Kurdish of PKK . Does it gives them ..chocolates ?

Thank you so much! That’s very kind, and very much appreciated. Sadly, I think the possibility of membership is now at an end. I wasn’t always so pessimistic. However, I think too much has happened to resurrect the process. But never say never!

@@JamesKerLindsay it s not big lost and not end of the world. I ve never been a pro EU' ist. It s a club let say for the birds. But we are dolphins and we cant breath there. It is never possible.

I have to say I chuckled when NATO and EU leaders, and the media were baffled by Erdogan''s blackmail last week, followed by a quick 180 degree turn. Because in domestic politics, that's what Erdogan have been doing his entire career. I fully agree with Erdogan being a pragmatist and an opportunist.

@@cemdursun how pragmatic is he when he pisses everybody off? He’s managed to make everyone distrust him, however, it’s no new discovery.

@@TenTenJ He lost trust long before this. Pissing them off is just the game he plays. We don't know what was negotiated just yet. (Hint: F16)

Erdoğan is a loose cannon. He acts as he pleases and doesn't take advice from the Turkish Central Bank, Economists or other outside country. At the moment, he knows he's in deep trouble and needs outside support and Russia doesn't represent enough in that regard.

I despise this western insecurity y'all display at every corner. Western media shits on their own every day, you choose to not see it. As for Erdogan, when trolls were happy that he won, because that "would make the west mad", I was confused, I am 100% sure that he made a bargain with Europa and they helped him win actually. The west knows that nobody does a bargain like the Turks! He is to be admired in this regard. And yes, Turkey needs to clean a bit their act and I would be happy to see them in the EU!

Haha! I fall into that increasingly rare category of Turkey watcher who remembers the time before Erdogan. I came up through the ANAP/DYP era.

@@JamesKerLindsay I may not always agree with edrogan but he knows how to play politics hes an intresting figure

@@JamesKerLindsay whoa a foreigner knowing those names is a bit of a surprise! such a weird country of politics isn't it? glad to know more people know our stuff 😁

@@JamesKerLindsay The supposedly more moderate years before Erdogan included the brutal 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

@Pardus777 The height of the Ottoman Empire were years of mass enslavement and massacre, especially targeting Christian families.

Every EU member has the right to veto a candidate's membership. France with its delusions of grandeur, dislikes the fact that it's only the second most powerful country of the EU and they are definitely not in favor of becoming the third, they also dislike Turkey. When Germany the biggest EU country with the most seats in Parliament has a population of 83 million, a country of 87 million like Turkey is too much to swallow. No European country would want us get the most seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, Turkey and the EU have conflicting interests. Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. It was only due to Greece's blackmail to block the accession of Central and Eastern European countries, that the Greek part of Cyprus was still awarded with EU membership despite not meeting the Copenhagen criteria. This is a clear example of the EU's double standards.Turkey and TRNC will not agree on anything but a two-state solution, which the Greeks don't accept. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish Cypriots to become a minority with only minority rights. Greece and the Greek Cypriots would not vote in favor of Turkey's membership. Aside from maybe a handful of countries, all the other members would veto Turkey's membership no matter how secular our government would be. Our national interests are more important than an EU membership. As a Kemalist Turk, I have never been in favor of Turkey becoming a member of the EU. Handing over sovereignty to the EU goes against our values. As a Kemalist I value our independence. I believe that Turkey and the EU can have good relations, but nothing more than that.

…Division which is currently the case, maybe yes but not recognition, as the Cyprus stalemate is kept & well maintained by the West cause it serves them so Mr Souvlaki; if A wanted it fixed, now would be the time to force TR to sod off from the occupation of Cyprus, there you go; Cyprus problem solved, as Erdo’s economy is in dire straits…

Thank you very much indeed! I really appreciate the support.

Die Türkei sieht die USA hinter dem Putschversuch im Juli 2016, deswegen sind die USA nicht sehr beliebt. Das sehe übrigens auch so. Das war letzte Versuch der USA mit einem Militärputsch die Türkei wieder in Griff zu bekommen. Zu dieser Tatsache kommen die von Ihnen aufgeführten Punkte. Die Türkei wird sicher keine Rechte an die EU abgeben wollen, deswegen wird die Türkei nie Mitglied in der EU werden. Die Türkei wird sich in der EU Deutschland und Frankreich nicht unterordnen wollen, das ist ein weiterer Punkt, de gegen die Mitgliedschaft der Türkei in der Nato spricht

We will see. I guess the future is going to be interesting.

Every EU member has the right to veto a candidate's membership. France with its delusions of grandeur, dislikes the fact that it's only the second most powerful country of the EU and they are definitely not in favor of becoming the third, they also dislike Turkey. When Germany the biggest EU country with the most seats in Parliament has a population of 83 million, a country of 87 million like Turkey is too much to swallow. No European country would want us get the most seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, Turkey and the EU have conflicting interests. Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. It was only due to Greece's blackmail to block the accession of Central and Eastern European countries, that the Greek part of Cyprus was still awarded with EU membership despite not meeting the Copenhagen criteria. Turkey and TRNC will not agree on anything but a two-state solution, which the Greeks don't accept. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish Cypriots to become a minority with only minority rights. Greece and the Greek Cypriots would not vote in favor of Turkey's membership. Aside from maybe a handful of countries, all the other members would veto Turkey's membership no matter how secular our government would be. Our national interests are more important than an EU membership. As a Kemalist Turk, I have never been in favor of Turkey coming a member of the EU. Handing over sovereignty to the EU goes against what values and ideals. As a Kemalist I value our independence. I believe that Turkey and the EU can have good relations, but nothing more than that.

Don't count on it, Erdogan in his last presidency period will prop up Hakan Fidan to replace him when his term is over.

​@@abadairshiFrance is the most powerful country in the EU now that the UK is out. Germany has got a bigger economy but it's a lot like Japan. It's not a powerful nation anymore it's a rich nation on a leash.

Turkey has the biggest military in Europe when shit will hit the fan , Europe going to be begging for their help

I really doubt that. Ask the Asian nations. China is not impressed with them either. Turkey is two faced.

Maybe a refund for those f35s if it wasn't given already.

There was talk about a 14 billion dollar IMF loan.

Of course there are a lot more than those F16s updates. Their economy is still depending on Dollar .. Right?

Thanks. It was just a short 10-15 minute video. Entire university courses can be taught on Turkish politics and Turkey-EU relations. I had to cut out large amounts of information. But hopefully I got the main points across.

❤❤❤ Teşekkürler umarım.

Thank you very much indeed!

artık türkiyede avrupa birliği üyeliği eskisi kadar ses getiren ve ilgi çeken bir durum değil. Gümrük anlaşmasında bir yenileme ve vize serbestliği yada kolay vize gibi durumlar daha çok ilgi çekiyor.Türkler ab ye dahil olmadan ilişkileri maksimum düzeyde bağlantılı tutmak istiyor.yada en azından benim gördüğüm bu şekilde

Well spoken Mr Cream!! If only they followed through this 50 years ago..!! Now they see who their true & stable allies are in the area! Cyprus should ask to push TR out of Cyprus; Cyprus prob solved in an instant & now&s the time to do it! Can u imagine a free Cyprus becoming a Nato member & allowing (another…shh-current one is also a secret..) US base on its soil, in exchange of guaranteing Cyp’s security & freedom?

@@ephilippos The reason why Turkey was accepted into NATO is its Geography. They bordered the Soviet Union and were able to project soft- and if necessary hard power on its oil-rich southern neighbours. Even though the cold war has ended and the Soviet Union is no more, we have seen that the geographical enemy of NATO is still the same. Along with an ever expansioning China that gains more and more influence in both Africa and the middle east, Anatolia and the Bosporus straits stays one of the absolute key locations in the world. Not to mention that Turkey is stronger then Cyprus. With over 80 Million people, Turkey is able to bunker up its mountains and even a 2 billion China wont be able to enter in without horrific loses. Turkey has the second largest army in NATO and a high quality weapon research sector. Turkey in most military fields is not dependant on an USA babysitting them with everything they need in order to keep up a fight. Even Cyprus and Greece combined come not even close to the importance Turkey holds, both geographically and militarily. I agree that Turkey is kind of the wildcard at the moment, but Turkey is never going to change out NATO and EU allies for unreliable and unprofitable powers in the east. Erdogan is justing flexing to get the best deals for Turkey and wants to increase its independance. You may dislike that, but that itself is no reason to believe that Turkey would not honor a call to arms in case NATO is attacked. So at the end, it does not matter how reliable Cyprus is or not. No offense to Greeks or Cypriots, but a tiny island like Cyprus will never contribute anything useful to the alliance, aside from providing bases. Something Turkey already does in its own territory so the need for bases of Cyprus is out of the picture already. Honestly, the other way around would be just as attractive for the USA. Just unite the island under Turkey and get bases that way. And just for the record: 50 years ago it was Turkey who proposed an independant Cyprus with rights for everybody and it was Greece that wanted to forcefully take the island for their own. So today you are supporting the idea of an independant Cyprus and reject the idea of Cyprus being taken by another state, while 50 years ago you do the opposite? That shows that you re not arguing based on rationality, but that you are simply bias towars Turks. Which takes any creditability away from you.

@@sinanroyal5359 Actually, the development of the port at Alexandroupolis in Greece renders the Bosporus straits irrelevant and the new connective train route between the port and Odessa will mean that it will take mere hours not 5 days through the straits to get supplies over to Ukraine. The Americans are slowly pulling out of the base in Incirlik,Turkey as the sentiment in the country is becoming very anti-American. I think you’re focusing too much on numbers. If there’s anything to learn from the war in Ukraine is that size doesn’t always matter. Bullets are small but they can kill.

@@elenigeorgiou87 The Bosporus straits is not only important for shipment to the Ukraine, but also a vital part of trade for Russia and the gate that leads from Asia to Europe. The Amercians are not only pulling out of Incirlik, but from the Middle East in general. Since the Trump administration USA started to shift its focus on the far east away from Islamic lands. I agree that the sentimant is becoming anti American, but that iself is no reason for the USA to leave a country. Most countries USA is present in militarily hate the USA. I put in a lot of numbers here, but my point is not to that because of statistics USA will keep in touch with Turkey and vice versa. I am talking about Realpolitik. At the end of the day, a government is always chasing success in order to survive and to gain power. Turkey is a far to important country to lose for the USA and on the other side to strong to take it down as happened with Iraq. The other way around the case is similar. Not only the USA, but the West in general is too important for Turkey to let them down. China, Russia and India can never replace the EU and USA for Turkey, wether it be economically, culturally or militarily. In every sense the West is preferable to Turkey, thats why Turkey even though everything that happened keeps ties with the West in tact. Turkey is a wildcard, but a wildcard does not mean stupid. Wildcard simply means that it refues to act according to given rules set by an institution, an alliance or whatever and instead act as the wildcard sees fit. And thats exactly what Erdogan does. I think you are focused too much on ideology. A similar worldview and a shared culture is an important factor of course, but history has shown that the needs always beat ideology. Even a completly autocratic Turkey would be a fitting partner, as long as they are open to work with the West aswell. No matter if they are a wildcard or not, as the benefits the West reaps out of that alliance are too great to ignore. Which is why even an autocratic Turkey will work together with the West. I hope though this will never become reality. Again, I am not hating on Greece and Cypus. They are allies of the USA aswell and are providing bases and stuff. Even though it is because of their rivalry with the Turks, Greece has one of the largest armies in Europe and their geography makes them as hard to conquer as Anatolia. But Turkey simply comes with advanteges Greece and Cyprus can not. The bigger population, as I have already mentioned. The autonomous military sector. The large army and the positioning. If Erdogans strategic interested are guaranteed to be fulfilled, Turkey is the stationing hub for any operation in the middle east for the NATO. For example, NATO decides to take down Assad. Erdogan will demand the Opposition to be put in charge afterwards and will demand the end for the YPG. If the USA agrees to this, the USA could launch its invasion into Syria from Turkey. Hell, Turkey would do that job themselves if in turn USA interested are guaranteed. Thats how politics works. Even though with the USA retreating, the middle east stays attractive. Its central location and strategic resources will always keep the middle east as one of Earths key regions. And Turkey is able to provide opportunities there that Greece and Cyprus could not. I believe that a complete annexation of Cyprus would be hard to realize for Turkey. NATO would oppose that, the world would need to meet a real low point for that to happen internationally accepted. But if things world wide get worse, and they are getting worse, Turkey could use Northern Cyprus as a bargaining chip. Either give it to Cyprus in exchange for massive concessions somewhere else. EU membership for example. Or getting Northern Cyprus officially recognized in exchange for Turkish loyality and aid. The world in 20 years will look completly different. With China on the rise, the middle east forming a united front against the USA (atleast for now) and Russia on the brink of collapse, power games will become the norm again. And Turkey, who is an aspiring power themselves waiting to enfroce their interests upon the middle east, is an attractive ally to have. Erdogan knows this. If he is loud now it is mostly for internal reasons. Appearing strong is important within turkish politics. Their are very militarily minded people. But shouting is all he does and not acting. He will only act if his main interests are endangered.

I did mention it. But here’s the thing: in any video I do there are any number of topics that I have to cover. I can’t cover everything in detail. So I end up with a long list of things that one viewer or another felt I should have covered. In these situations, I ask that people consider whether, in total, I was broadly right with my analysis and conclusions.

@@JamesKerLindsay Oh, immigration? No, it's not just 'one of the issues' in Turkey-EU relations, it's the star of the show! It's significant enough to have those lovely democratic European governments cozy up to an authoritarian leader - who would've thought? Apparently, the EU isn't looking for a democratic partner, no, they're in the market for a loyal guard dog. But of course, you're well aware of this little open secret, aren't you?

Thank you so much, Peter. Have a great weekend! :-)

Well there's also a significant Kemalist section in Turkey. Unfortunately they're in the opposition as Erdogan has occupied all institutions.

@@mv_5878 Even if Kemalists were to gain power again, the old romantic days were long gone. A new reality is being set, and it is not a distortion. It's entirely real. The only thing I feel still staying the same is the ongoing demise of Russia as a superpower.

@@mv_5878 You do realize, that Kemalists would be far more extreme in putting Turkeys interests first, unlike Erdogan who acts as Europes refugee camp, fucked over the economy and education, right?

I have seen some of your previous answers in a variety of videos. You appear to be very well-versed, with Reddington-like takes. Do you like the Blacklist and what do you think about the future of Turkey, if they are that overproud of themselves?

@@huwenkai440 Turkey definitely thinks itself as a regional great power. They hassle far beyond their own borders. I guess when they realised they will never be accepted in the EU (the coup attempt was the last nail in the coffin) they went full neo-Ottoman. I guess you have a point - what else would explain Erdogan's popularity, after he has wrecked the Turkish economy completely, if not collective dreams of grandeur?

Nah! It was Erdoğan who OPENED the migrant pipeline so that he could use desperate hordes to blackmail Europe.

i dont think there’s anything wrong with erdoğan being the president that would disqualify turkey from being a part of the eu. he’s not really undemocratic, just authoritarian. i think the bigger problem is the racism many in europe have towards muslims, and the sheer size of turkey.

Every EU member has the right to veto a candidate's membership. France with its delusions of grandeur, dislikes the fact that it's only the second most powerful country of the EU and they are definitely not in favor of becoming the third, they also dislike Turkey. When Germany the biggest EU country with the most seats in Parliament has a population of 83 million, a country of 87 million like Turkey is too much to swallow. No European country would want us get the most seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, Turkey and the EU have conflicting interests. Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. It was only due to Greece's blackmail that the Greek part of Cyprus was still awarded with EU membership despite not meeting the Copenhagen criteria.Turkey and TRNC will not agree on anything but a two-state solution, which the Greeks don't accept. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish Cypriots to become a minority with only minority rights. Greece and the Greek Cypriots would not vote in favor of Turkey's membership. Aside from maybe a handful of countries, all the other members would veto Turkey's membership no matter how secular our government would be. Our national interests are more important than an EU membership. As a Kemalist Turk, I have never been in favor of Turkey coming a member of the EU. Handing over sovereignty to the EU goes against what values and ideals. As a Kemalist I value our independence. I believe that Turkey and the EU can have good relations, but nothing more than that.

@@abadairshi I will apologise first, but really that was much too long winded for me to stay interested in it. My opinion on the EU is that beyond free trade and movement it's just another way the elites are trying to centralise power and limit the number of people in control. I think Turkey are in the perfect place, and when used appropriately they have an immense amount of potential diplomatic power. Whether that helps the average citizen I do not know.

The Forever Wars caused by the US and their poodles UK and Europe.

Thank you so much! That’s really great to hear. :-)

Thanks. I certainly have my concerns about Turkey. But we also have to be careful about how we understand and interpret history. There has been a lot of bad done by both sides to each other. For example, you talk about 1922. But let’s also remember that Greece had invaded Anatolia and was trying to incorporate it into the Greek state. This is not to excuse human rights abuses. But it is also important to recall the broader context of various actions and remember that there was a lot of ethnic cleansing and brutality committed by Greek forces. Both Greeks and Turks like to see themselves as victims, and yet conveniently forget the atrocities ‘their side’ perpetrated. Likewise, 1974 was very complex and the way was opened for the invasion by the Greek military junta’s disastrous decision to try to annex Cyprus. Had it succeeded, I often wonder how many Greeks would be decrying the blatant violation of international law that would have entailed? My point is not to say you are wrong. A lot has been done against the Greek people. But all of us also need to accept that ‘our’ national version of events is often very one-sided. I have seen that at first hand with Britain’s history with Ireland. Sometimes it helps to be able to step back and put things in their broader context.

@@JamesKerLindsay Two points: About the Greeks trying to incorporate a small part of Anatolia after World War I, they had been told of Allied backing (at first) and had already seen what had happened to the Armenians in 1915. About a coup in Cyprus as an excuse for the 1974 Turkish invasion, please note that the coup very quickly collapsed but the Turks nevertheless continued their invasion, with the great majority of the Turkish conquest and the subsequent refugee tragedy occurring AFTER the coup collapsed. (There is a saying in the US that one should never let a good crisis go to waste.) I also note that you did not address recent Turkish maps claiming Greek islands.

@@JamesKerLindsay "Likewise, 1974 was very complex" The Russian invasion/occupation of parts of Ukraine could be justified far easier than the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, but I never saw you trying to excuse the Russians. For example: The Greeks in Cyprus have many 1000s of years of history, unlike the Turks who conquered the island after the Europeans colonized America. In Crimea both the Russians and Ukrainians have the same amount of history. The occupied part of Cyprus had a clear Greek Cypriot majority, which was ethnically cleansed by the Turks and replaced by Anatolian Settlers. The parts of Ukraine that Russia occupies are territories which already had a Russian majority.

@@johnsakelaris7 Totally agree with both your comments although I understand that James tries to be neutral due to his role!!

@@thcyprus Exactly!! The more I compare the two situations, the more I realize that they are the same!!!

Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. Due to Greece's blackmail to veto the accession of new Member States, the Greek part was still awarded with EU membership.

Yes the EU's strange Cyprus policy has surely left a stain in relations that won't go away for a hundred years.

Strange that the Greek Cypriots chose not to be fvcked over ...

​@@williamdavis9562Calling it EU's double standards would be more fitting in my opinion.

You're correct there, but even if the Cyprus issue was solved, Turkey wouldn't join the EU. It's in West Asia and has a lot of influence, as you know, from Islam, and it would be the country with the largest EU population and with borders with Middle Eastern states. Would you want to admit Turkey if you were France or Germany? Sure, the Cyprus issue was hypocrisy, I agree.

What kind of agreement? There are Treaties that determine the sovereignty of these islands!! Or do you imply that these Treaties should change?

@@motocount I'm talking about the territorial waters

@@dreamcast3607 ok!! As you wrote it, it seems like the sovereignty of the islands is questionable!

OK . What kind of agreement ,would be .? To be equal owners in our yard , in our homes ? They already ,still occupied the half of Cyprus , ignoring of all of the UN resolutions about peace and justice. They ignoring ..JUSTICE ! What kind of agreement ,they want about the Aegean islands ?

@@mehmetk.501 Really? So, what are you going to do about it?

I would actually tend to agree. But I do wonder if the state of the economy is so bad that this will constrain him - until it improves and he can do what he wants again. But I have heard that it is on the brink of a crisis.

@@JamesKerLindsay A fair point, my only quibble is the idea that it is on the brink of crisis, I'd say it's been in full on crisis for a couple of years. Right now, the main opportunity for growth, to my limited knowledge admittedly, is tourism. With Russian tourism to the rest of Europe restricted, that has made Turkey massively attractive to Russian tourism. While I expect Erdoğan to continue bargaining with the west, I doubt he can afford to alienate Russia too much. Our Lukashenko?

That's right. Triggers ! That is of what the Turks are . Not long ago ,and for almost a year, they was threading Greece, about the Aegean islands. From their priminister till the last teenager. Then with those earthquakes ,they became a bit softer..till they had those problems, from the Americans ,about their F 16s update. Oh , they can pass through a needle hole now . ! Till when ? Turkey, is still occupied the half almost of Cyprus, since 1974 , ignoring of all of the UN resolutions about peace and justice for the island. Is even trying in our days, to turn of those occupied areas in to a separate " recognise "state .. Takers ..! That is of what they are....

@droomankaas5904 you can keep your Islam there and each others hands off but it does not belong in Europe.

Thank you! :-) To be fair, I have been working on Turkey for over 30 years.

No. Not buying it. Türkiye is an act of monumental political illiteracy and a sign of an inferiority complex. No other country does this. Not Spain, Germany, Greece, India, Japan, or China - to name just a few. And I wouldn’t dream of insisting that someone Turkish calls my country ‘The United Kingdom’ in English when speaking Turkish. Besides, English speakers can’t get it right and make it sound silly. You should be pushing back against this ridiculous move.

A masterclass on how to tank your economy, turn allies into enemies, and ensure that you have zero credibility or friendly relationships when things go bad. Truly inspirational.

@@CedarHunt said "allies" quite literally support terrorist organizations against Turkey and critized Turkey, after it shot down a jet of their supposed common enemy Russia. Also Im pretty sure Turkeys recent successes when it comes to negotiating between conflict parties or working to enable the grain deal symbolizes Turkeys credibility pretty well

​@@quvy338Turkey murders dissidents and is guilty of genocide, maybe if they were more civilized they wouldn't have so many "terrorists" resisting their jackboot. Turkey shooting down that Russian jet was an incredibly stupid move and that fool erdogan rightly took heat for it. The idea that Turkey has any credibility is laughable.

Being the diplomatic equivalent of an Internet troll may be fine realpolitik, but as others pointed out, it will only make your allies hate and distrust you because your word means nothing. You may get your way at first, but eventually ranks will close against you, and then you'll be on the outside looking in.

​@@merrycynic It was always the case that the Turks were "outsiders looking in" Erogden watched happen when the Yanks supported the destabilisation of Syria and it's support of PKK as well Libya both which have been a disaster for Turkey, it forced them into military conflict, created a migrant crisis and renewed terror attacks in Turkey. Then rather then actually work with Turkey the EU instead to applied pressure to the Turks attempting to force them shoulder the burden of the migrant criss on their own. The Turks flipped the script with the migrant crisis and rather then close ranks as many expected the EU buckled almost immediate conceding to their demands. The Turks know neither the EU nor the US can actually be trusted. It's only natural that the Turks will continue to leverage as much power from the relationship as they can going forward.

Thank you so much. I am so incredibly sorry I didn’t reply sooner. I have only just seen this. (RU-vid really is terrible at notifications.) That really was incredibly kind of you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support. And my sincerest apologies again for the delayed thank you. Very best regards, James

Thanks a lot for the feedback. Could you let me know which language in particular you are referring to. It seems to work for many languages. But I know some are just terrible. (The new generation of AI should completely change all this.)

@@JamesKerLindsay Finnish language

@@juhalehto6494 Haha. Thanks. I should have guessed. 😀 I don’t think I have tried it before. And clearly for good reason. Many apologies. I’ll try to delete it. Some languages are best left untouched. We’ll know AI is a true danger when it conquers Finnish!

Every EU member has the right to veto a candidate's membership. France with its delusions of grandeur, dislikes the fact that it's only the second most powerful country of the EU and they are definitely not in favor of becoming the third, they also dislike Turkey. When Germany the biggest EU country with the most seats in Parliament has a population of 83 million, a country of 87 million like Turkey is too much to swallow. No European country would want us get the most seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, Turkey and the EU have conflicting interests. Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. It was only due to Greece's blackmail to block the accession of Central and Eastern European countries, that the Greek part of Cyprus was still awarded with EU membership despite not meeting the Copenhagen criteria. Turkey and TRNC will not agree on anything but a two-state solution, which the Greeks don't accept. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish Cypriots to become a minority with only minority rights. Greece and the Greek Cypriots would not vote in favor of Turkey's membership. Aside from maybe a handful of countries, all the other members would veto Turkey's membership no matter how secular our government would be. Our national interests are more important than an EU membership. As a Kemalist Turk, I have never been in favor of Turkey becoming a member of the EU. Handing over sovereignty to the EU goes against what values and ideals. As a Kemalist I value our independence. I believe that Turkey and the EU can have good relations, but nothing more than that.j

Racism and Islamophobia plays a major role but what's wrong with that? The current obsession with accepting everyone into everything is insane. You are allowed to like/dislike anyone for whatever reason and that was the case for all of Human history until like six decades ago when the powers that be decided to not allow that anymore.

Why not, you can have baby in tube!!

@@kristinazboodram173 ….& not only! Ask the Armenians & Greeks what TR are; they know better….!!

@@ephilippos yes they know better, As a Turk we were food Soldiers and peasant!! In otoman empire, Ermanian and greeks Banker and industry , despite that we did living together 500 years We don't mind living again under the Turkish government!!

@@atillahan4100 u can live under Ottomans, we won’t

Sorry, but this isn’t really the case. Turkey’s partners have put up with any number of actions that stand against the principles and values of its partners. You say that its partners should respect its decisions. OK. But if those decisions stand against its partners then surely it should do the honourable thing and leave? As long as a Turkey wants to remain in those bodies, it has to accept the rules.

@@JamesKerLindsay I understand that. Thank you. I want to add something tho. Everytime we fit in all rules. They add new rule to the desk. Or I am wrong at this point? I know Erdogan looks like he doesn't really want join that union. But even if he wants, European Union comes up with a new condition every time. I respect to you sir. You are well educated person about this topics I know. I don't want to be disrestpectful. But When you born and live in middle east, you become a little bit prof in politicis. I think we both know EU doesn't want Turkey to join there. They use Turks as a trump card to get the Turks to do their own things around the middle east with this rules. Sorry for broken English but I tried my best

@@yusufsemihkurt3240 Thanks. I fully agree that the EU has often behaved very unfairly towards Turkey. But, again, Turkey hasn’t made it easier. The autocratic tendencies of Erdogan have been a gift for anti-Turkish voices in the EU. As for the condition of membership, these are the same for every candidate country. Turkey isn’t singled out. I know it seems that way, but I don’t think it is.

Please explain/expound/state facts on your statement

Cool down bro. Even himself doesn't believe that EU will accept Turkey to join. He is just fooling his blind and uneducated followers as always he does. Telling you as a turkish citizen

EU entering BRICS is a higher possibility than Turkey entering the EU. :) Why my country is willing to become Afghanistan I still don't know.

Every EU member has the right to veto a candidate's membership. France with its delusions of grandeur, dislikes the fact that it's only the second most powerful country of the EU and they are definitely not in favor of becoming the third, they also dislike Turkey. When Germany the biggest EU country with the most seats in Parliament has a population of 83 million, a country of 87 million like Turkey is too much to swallow. No European country would want us get the most seats in the European Parliament. Apart from that, Turkey and the EU have conflicting interests. Turkey was promised that the Cyprus issue would not become an obstacle for its membership. While the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the Annan plan, the Greek Cypriots voted against the solution of solving the Cyprus issue. It was only due to Greece's blackmail to block the accession of Central and Eastern European countries, that the Greek part of Cyprus was still awarded with EU membership despite not meeting the Copenhagen criteria. This is a clear example of the EU's double standards. Turkey and TRNC will not agree on anything but a two-state solution, which the Greeks don't accept. Greece and the Greek Cypriots want the Turkish Cypriots to become a minority with only minority rights. Greece and the Greek Cypriots would not vote in favor of Turkey's membership. Aside from maybe a handful of countries, all the other members would veto Turkey's membership no matter how secular our government would be. Our national interests are more important than an EU membership. As a Kemalist Turk, I have never been in favor of Turkey becoming a member of the EU. Handing over sovereignty to the EU goes against our values. As a Kemalist I value our independence. I believe that Turkey and the EU can have good relations, but nothing more than that.

@@pingu9729 How awesome. Do you expect a trophy?

Thanks. But Turkey was in fact still opening accession chapters until 2016. :-) neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/turkiye_en (I’ve written a lot on Turkey-EU relations.)

Bir kriz yaşadığımız gerçek ama çok gençsin biz batmayiz😂

@@bir_cumle O kadar emin olmamalısın bence, batmaz denen Osmanlı bile battı.

Nagihancim çok gençsin bu tarz yorumlarını aramizda yaparız eleştiride yaparız bu ayrı fakat yabancılara karşı ülke hakkında olumsuz konuşmak çokta bu ülke vatandaşına yakışmıyor. Biz olumlu olmak zorundayız. sana benden bir büyük olarak tavsiye ülkesini seven biri her koşulda ülkesini korur ve olumlu konuşur.

@@bir_cumle Avrupa Birliği’ne girmek istemediğimi belirttim aslında. Ekonomimizin kötü olduğunu söylemek de ülkemi aşağılamak değil, gerçeklerden bahsetmek. Duyarlılığın ve tavsiyen için teşekkür ederim ama :)

Bro think 31 country vs 1 country I think winer is russia 🇷🇺

Arkadaşım bizim eski solcularimiz kalkıp ülkesini yurt dışında onurla temsil eder ve her ne olursa olsun eleştirisini içerde yapardı. Bilmiyorum ki siz hangi ülkenin Vatandaşı oluyor sunuz? Başka halkların insanları bile sizden daha vijdanlı yorum yapmış. Bazıları size boşu boşuna vatan haini demiyor. Aklınızı başınıza alın bir yerleri birileri yapmaya çalışırken birilerinin bozması nasıl bir psikojinin ürünüdür.

There we have to disagree. Trump was a disaster in so many ways. Even his triumph, the Abraham Accords, was highly damaging in certain key ways. Trump also did terrible damage to the State Department and US relations with its allies. The Biden Administration certainly has its problems. But there is a completely different and more positive relationship with its partners. I really and truly worry about what another Trump government would do to the US.

@@JamesKerLindsay I certainly can't dent the fact. But as soon as Biden came into power, the tensions around the world have only escalated, rather be it NATOs unnecessary expansion to Ukrainian , Taiwanese statehood or about Afghanistans humanitarian crisis. Since,no administration in US has been committed to ideals of humanitarian rights, advancement of democracy and most importantly "global" interests. They all have been using these values just for the sake of their business and personal interests. That's also the basis of every foreign policy around the world so far. I just feel that when Trump was in power the world was more peaceful.

@@JamesKerLindsay Under Trump we had NO wars. Under Biden there are wars everywhere!! Trump is great for America, Biden is great for Globalist and we all know which side you are on, but you are wrong! In the long term, and strong and powerful USA benefits every country whether they like it or not. Just look at history after WW2 where US was the uber power, and the world was much safer despite the cold war.

Turkey is aging as well. The proportion of Turks will fall as their share of the population meanwhile the booming Kurdish minority is growing at a rapid pace. Turkey also had to deal with the growing population of Syrians(Arabs), this will Balkanize Turkey by 2050