Earlier this month Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a decree to suspend Ankara's obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Known as the CFE, the treaty was signed in 1990 as the Soviet Union was beginning to unravel. It imposed limits on conventional military equipment in Europe. But Moscow withdrew from the agreement in November saying it does not serve Russia's fundamental security interests. NATO countries, including the US, UK and Germany followed by freezing their participation in the pact.
Moscow had previously suspended its participation in the CFE in 2007 before completely withdrawing last year. Russia blamed NATO countries for fueling the Ukraine conflict and embracing Finland and Sweden as new members. Although the reciprocal response from the alliance came with condemnation, the US said the suspension of the treaty's obligations would strengthen NATO's deterrence and defence capacity by removing restrictions which affect military planning. Where does Turkiye stand admist this change, and what impact will the CFE's suspesion have on European security.
Strait Talk, hosted by Ayse Suberker, is TRT World’s programme that features in-depth analysis of Türkiye’s role in the world.
Guests:
Samuel Doveri Vesterbye
Managing Director at European Neighbourhood Council
Tudor Onea
Assistant Professor at Bilkent University
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