TR Foreign Policy & Geopolitics

[RMZN]

If you want the EU to not be hostile, you need to mend relations with them. It’s not such a difficult concept to gasp.

As long as Turkey has military in Northern Cyprus, it basically occupies land of a EU country. This is detrimental to Turkey‘s national security, because it keeps the door open for a potential future conflict.

It doesn’t really matter who is right and who is wrong in Cyprus. Both sides think they are right and that the opposing side is wrong. What I am trying to explain here is that the status quo is not beneficial to Turkey, because it blocks potential improvements in relations with the EU, and it leaves the door open for a potential future conflict.

What do you hope to achieve by keeping a military presence in Cyprus? How does this benefit Turkey in the long term?

The current situation benefits Russia and the US, because it keeps an old wound open between Turkey and Europe, and the two cannot mend their relations because of that.

Do you think it is beneficial for Turkey to be in an adversarial position towards the EU?

Recent developments in Ukraine and the US are pushing Europe towards rearming and deeper integration. Do you want to miss this opportunity to integrate with Europe because of Northern Cyprus?

Also, keep in mind that once Europe gears up its MIC, it will be unwilling to gear it down once the Eastern flank is secured and Ukraine liberated. You will than have a hugely powerful and influential European MIC that will be hungry for new conflicts in order to justify its new increased size. Once Europe resolves its current security problems, it will start being much more assertive in the Mediterranean, and if Turkey will still be at odds with Cyprus, it may end up being the unfortunate adversary of an emboldened and more aggressive Europe.

Europe is looking to become more independent and powerful, because of Putin’s and Trump’s big mistakes of shaking the status quo. It would be wise for Turkey to join Europe now, while it has a strong hand (Turkey would be very helpful against Russia considering its size and strength), rather than stay on the sidelines while Europe rearms and rediscovers its strength.

Most Europeans would prefer to have Turkey as an ally, but the Cyprus issue is a big thorn in relations, and it is up to Turkey to offer concessions in order to fix it.

In the long term, Turkey needs good relations with Europe much more than Europe needs good relations with Turkey. Ignoring this fact is a very big geopolitical mistake.

The EU will always be hostile as Turkey is a geopolitical rival vying for the same spheres of influences and resources.

Turkish military presence predates Cyprus becoming a EU member. Thus it was the EU which chose a path of hostility, not Turkey. Having Turkish troops on Cyprus quite literally closes the door of a possible staging ground for attacks by hostile actors via Cyprus. Its like arguing that Ukraine should simply sign a peace treaty with Russia because the human and economic cost of the War is destroying Ukraines future potential as a country.

Once again, it was the EU which violated its own laws and made Cyprus a memberstate. The EU does not want any cooperation with Turkey except for keeping in refugees and as protection from the Russians.

A Turkish military presence on Cyprus is detrimental for the security of Turkey proper and its standing in the eastern med in regards to natural resources. The very same natural resources the EU wants for itself and has no plan of sharing it with anyone else.

Who do you think they will turn their weapons towards if you remove the Russians from the equation. The French have not yet given up on their colonial heritage.

So then why should Turkey disarm itself to please a hostile actor arming itself? There is no logic whatsoever. Based on your argument Turkey should make sure to triple its military presence on the island and built new bases, etc.

"Most Europeans would prefer to have Turkey as an ally" - we both not that it far from the Truth lmfao. Before the Ukraine war europeans looked more favorable towards Russia than Turkey. After all russians were still regarded as "european", before becoming "savage orcs" after the invasion.

 

[Sanchez]

If the Annan plan was the best deal Greek Cypriots were ever going to get, it means there was never a honest intention to allow for reunification. The Annan plan was not fair to Greek Cypriots and was destined to be rejected in the referendum.

As for the Turkish Cypriot elections this year, what are the options offered to the electorate?

Annan Plan gave everything Greek Cypriot leaders asked to GCs. Mind you, this was still the same group of people that murdered their ethnic minority neighbours a few decades ago. What's with this chasing equality when history of the island very clearly shows that when the majority had absolute power, they tried to kill the minority. Are we supposed to act like stuff didn't happen now?

As usual, main candidates will be one pro federation, one pro two state solution candidate with smaller parties added in.

-
As I was saying yesterday, this was shared today by Greece as their new "maritime spatial planning" map, for the first time ever officially claiming the Seville map in an official document.

Should we accept this to have better relations with EU, without an EU membership in this century of course, and accept that most of our maritime traffic will now have to pass through Greek national waters as claimed by Greece under the right of innocent passage? You can't take TCG Anadolu from Istanbul to Antalya using the given Turkish waters in this above map and not be harassed all the way with their so called right to raise territorial waters in Aegean to 12nms.

Back to my original question again. Should we accept this? In return for what? So that EU will accept us as a peripheral partner and allow us to use our soldiers to die for EU security and visa free travel? What do we gain by this?

 

[GoatsMilk]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1912387838965875176

 

[contricusc]

Should we accept this to have better relations with EU, without an EU membership in this century of course, and accept that most of our maritime traffic will now have to pass through Greek national waters as claimed by Greece under the right of innocent passage?

If Turkey would become a EU member, the right of passage through Greek territorial waters would not be an issue, because there is freedom of movement inside the EU.

I know there are many disputes between you and Greece, but the optimal way to handle them is through negotiation and diplomacy, while sharing a pro-European stance.

Look at North Macedonia, which managed to resolve their naming dispute with Greece through EU mediation, because they wanted to join the union and it was the common interest to have a resolution.

While joining the union may look like an impossible thing now, in the long term it could be achieved if Turkey would realign closer to Europe and would work to resolve the disputes. The EU still has a few more countries to swallow and digest, but if you look at the long game, the expansion options are limited and Turkey would be necessary if the EU wants control of the Black Sea and plans to include countries like Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaidjan.

 

[contricusc]

The EU will always be hostile as Turkey is a geopolitical rival vying for the same spheres of influences and resources.

Turkish military presence predates Cyprus becoming a EU member. Thus it was the EU which chose a path of hostility, not Turkey.

I don’t think you understand the long term strategy of the EU. The EU simply swallows countries that are geographically close and politically aligned, and the borders of the EU are not limited to the current ones.

Cyprus was an easy to get country (they wanted inside the EU and it had a good geographical location and small population) that was easy to swallow and digest, so taking them in was a no brainer.

In the same manner, you will see countries like Montenegro, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Serbia get absorbed one by one into the EU, because they fit geographically and are small enough not to alter the balance of power and destabilize the economy.

The bigger targets like Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey are much more difficult to absorb and integrate, because of their size, so there needs to be a very high political alignment first. We are seeing this evolution in Ukraine, where the current regime is 100% pro-EU, unlike the governments of the pro-Russian past. This means that Ukraine was already “conquered” in the sense that the population and leadership has been converted to a pro-EU mindset. But since Ukraine’s situation is so complicated because of the war, it will take some time before it will be able to join the EU, as it will need to end the war and reclaim its territories first, and also rebuild its economy. But Ukraine’s future in the EU is almost certain.

With Turkey, the population size is a big issue, because it would technically be the largest country in the union, with the most voting power in the EU parliament, which makes Germany and France weary. But if Turkey would become a very pro-EU country in both population and political opinion, the pressure on France and Germany to accept Turkey would rise.

The thing is, the main objective of the EU is to become one of the big boys, together with the US and China. And when it comes to total power, the addition of countries like Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaidjan and Armenia could greatly incease the overall size of the union. But this is something for a later time, because the EU institutions need to get more power themselves first, in order to be able to slowly bypass the opposition from certain countries.

 

[I_Love_F16]

I don’t think you understand the long term strategy of the EU. The EU simply swallows countries that are geographically close and politically aligned, and the borders of the EU are not limited to the current ones.

Cyprus was an easy to get country (they wanted inside the EU and it had a good geographical location and small population) that was easy to swallow and digest, so taking them in was a no brainer.

In the same manner, you will see countries like Montenegro, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Serbia get absorbed one by one into the EU, because they fit geographically and are small enough not to alter the balance of power and destabilize the economy.

The bigger targets like Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey are much more difficult to absorb and integrate, because of their size, so there needs to be a very high political alignment first. We are seeing this evolution in Ukraine, where the current regime is 100% pro-EU, unlike the governments of the pro-Russian past. This means that Ukraine was already “conquered” in the sense that the population and leadership has been converted to a pro-EU mindset. But since Ukraine’s situation is so complicated because of the war, it will take some time before it will be able to join the EU, as it will need to end the war and reclaim its territories first, and also rebuild its economy. But Ukraine’s future in the EU is almost certain.

With Turkey, the population size is a big issue, because it would technically be the largest country in the union, with the most voting power in the EU parliament, which makes Germany and France weary. But if Turkey would become a very pro-EU country in both population and political opinion, the pressure on France and Germany to accept Turkey would rise.

The thing is, the main objective of the EU is to become one of the big boys, together with the US and China. And when it comes to total power, the addition of countries like Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaidjan and Armenia could greatly incease the overall size of the union. But this is something for a later time, because the EU institutions need to get more power themselves first, in order to be able to slowly bypass the opposition from certain countries.

Turkiye being a member of the EU, means that the borders of the union will be extented to Iran, Syria, Irak … And let’s be real, this won’t happen. Europe always used Turkiye as a buffer zone to contains refugees. And this won’t change now.

By the way, if you want to be totally independant, you have to stay out of the union. I’m personnally in favor of France being out of the union, even tho I know it won’t happen.

 

[contricusc]

Turkiye being a member of the EU, means that the borders of the union will be extented to Iran, Syria, Irak … And let’s be real, this won’t happen. Europe always used Turkiye as a buffer zone to contains refugees. And this won’t change now.

The US incorporated far away lands like Alaska and Hawaii into their country, because of their strategic importance. I don’t think that it is unreasonable to believe that Turkey can be included in the EU in the longer term. The Roman Empire used to include Northern Africa as well, so there is no predefined limit on where the EU has to stop expanding.

If we look at UEFA member countries, you will find the likes of Israel, Azerbaidjan, Georgia and Armenia, as well as Kazakhstan. If Israel and Kazakhstan can be “European”, than why not Turkey?

By the way, if you want to be totally independant, you have to stay out of the union. I’m personnally in favor of France being out of the union, even tho I know it won’t happen.

You can’t be totally independent in Europe. Ask the British, the Swiss and the Norwegians if they are “totally independent”. They basically abide by the EU rules without having a seat at the table that makes the rules.

And the more integrated and powerful the EU will become, the harder it will bully its neighbors. It’s simply safer to be inside the union.

 

[TheInsider]

Italy offers Greece 2 used FREMM Frigates, with deliveries in 2028, 2029.

https://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/greece-might-acquire-two-bergamini-class-frigates-from-italy-following-fremm-evo-commissioninghttps://armyrecognition.com/news/navy-news/2025/greece-might-acquire-two-bergamini-class-frigates-from-italy-following-fremm-evo-commissioning

Hope Greece takes them. Those weigh over 6.500 tons and they are undergunned compared to their size. Greece is in the same shitty cycle. Binge buy whatever is available, and after a few years, can't maintain them due to a lack of funds, and let them rot in the harbor.

 

[Agha Sher]

Why does Turkiye allow RAF to use her airspace when flying missions in support of the PKK? This aircraft was ferrying 2 Typhoons to the location from Cyprus.

 

[GoatsMilk]

Why does Turkiye allow RAF to use her airspace when flying missions in support of the PKK? This aircraft was ferrying 2 Typhoons to the location from Cyprus.

View attachment 74555

good boy.

 

[steppeWolf]

Our so called Central Asian "Brothers"

Backstabbing us oh well when Russia comes knocking on the door.

I hope Turkiye pulls the middle finger.

Closest will get to Turkic unity is with Azerbaijan. You dont have people like Elchibeys in any of the Central Asian countries.

Tajiks actually performed much better than the Kyrgz in the latest skirmish. Thats how piss poor Central Asian Turkic militaries are.

We can all blame Erdogan and Akp all we like. At the same time time you have your Muslim brothers and Turkic brothers all backstabbing you at the same time.

Maybe its best Turkiye puts its interests first before any deluded bullshit union.

Drop hayals and come back to reality. This is a good lesson we all learn. Geopolitics does not care about our feelings.

There wouldn't be no Turkic Union, atleast not in the forseaable future. Uzbeks don't like Kyrgyz and vice versa for example. Huge parts of Central Asian society still have that old soviet mentality. Self serving pricks. Being from Uzbek origin background from Afghanistan, I have spent alot of time with the folks. I have no good expectations.

 

[Sanchez]

Why does Turkiye allow RAF to use her airspace when flying missions in support of the PKK

TR is in talks with US to assume the same anti-ISIS ops these RAF jets fly at the moment.

 

[GoatsMilk]

There wouldn't be no Turkic Union, atleast not in the forseaable future. Uzbeks don't like Kyrgyz and vice versa for example. Huge parts of Central Asian society still have that old soviet mentality. Self serving pricks. Being from Uzbek origin background from Afghanistan, I have spent alot of time with the folks. I have no good expectations.

Turks have to work, anything of value doesn't come easy.

 

[begturan]

US has started drawing down hundreds of troops from northeastern Syria: NYT

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1912955858180612398

Israel media: US security officials have informed Israel's defense establishment that a phased withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria will begin within two months

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1912168315109138933

If the news is true, America seems to have abandoned Israel and the PKK by withdrawing from Syria. There have been rumors recently that America is interested in valuable minerals in Türkiye, now I understand better why Trump is trying to get closer to Turkey. Let's see what kind of developments we will witness in the coming months...

 

[Fuzuli NL]

Turks in Germany have to pay every month for this sh*t (Public broadcasting license fee 18,36 €), so german national TV can make terrorist propaganda.

ARD Story Folge 66: Erdogans Kampf gegen die Kurden – Unterwegs mit deutschen Helfern in Nordsyrien

Während das ARD-Team ein völlig zerstörtes Haus in Nordsyrien betritt, sind am Himmel Drohnen zu hören. Kurdische Bewohner berichten, sie würden …

www.fernsehserien.de

ARD and ZDF used to be respectable and trustworthy.
Recently they're no different than any Rupert Murdoch sh1tty media outlet. Closer to the toilet paper Bild than serious news channels.

 

[CAN_TR]

Why does Turkiye allow RAF to use her airspace when flying missions in support of the PKK? This aircraft was ferrying 2 Typhoons to the location from Cyprus.

View attachment 74555

Why does Türkiye allow Mazloum Abdi walking freely near the Tishreen Dam? Because this Goverment is ANTI Turkish in every aspect, they don‘t have something called dignity, honour or patriotism only a pricetag.

Ey Ingilitere, Ey ABD on TV but then you see planes taking up from not recognized South Cyprus through our airspace to an airfield under PKK/YPG control.

 

[King_West]

In the end. I think Turkey should make a deal with the US to pressure the Greeks, abandon Syria. And provide Turkey with F35. And in return, they can use Turkish airspace to attack Iran. In case of an invasion. Turkey should not make the same mistakes as with Iraq but Turkey should enter to North simultaneously to help free the Turks or Iran

 

[Iskander]

In the end. I think Turkey should make a deal with the US to pressure the Greeks, abandon Syria. And provide Turkey with F35. And in return, they can use Turkish airspace to attack Iran. In case of an invasion. Turkey should not make the same mistakes as with Iraq but Turkey should enter to North simultaneously to help free the Turks or Iran

In my opinion, Türkiye should under no circumstances open its airspace to the US and/or Israel to attack Iran. Ankara refused the US 22 years ago when the Americans invaded Iraq, and I think it was the right move.
If the central government of Iran loses control of the country or its northwestern part because of their invasion, then I agree with you, Türkiye should send troops to these areas to take under its wing the Turkish speaking population.

 

[Zoth]

It's fucking 2025 and i still see people mentioning joining the EU, we know this will not happen, the turkish goverment knows that will never happen and the europeans know that they will never let Turkey join, let's fucking move on. Turkey will never be let into the EU without major concessions such as giving autonomy to "some certain minorities", giving up on Cyprus issue and sucking to Greek ass over Aegean and Israeli and Cyprus ass over Mediterranean.


What Turkey should do regardless if it joins the EU or not is that it should improve it's democratic roots and reset to Republic settings instead of AKP nepotism.
What Turkey is doing correct, now, is that it's trying to diversify it's export market to other than EU, such as ASEAN, MENA, Latin America and increase it's trade capacity with the US.

The Europe's ruling elite is simply living in another reality to come to fair deal with Turkey, what do you expect of the EU when "it's ruled" by Von der Leyen.

 

[Ryder]

Erdogan wanted to give up 36% of TRNC to South Cyprus just for Turkiye to get into the EU.

Im really wondering Erdogan was once the EU and Liberal darling of the world.

What made him change?

Denktas talked about how Erdogan was going to backstab the TRNC but back downed fearing that it could end his career or maybe a coup it is said the Public would not sit well with it.