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Turkey doesn't need any protection from Russia. It has second largest army in NATO right after US and can fend off Russia just fine all on its own. During Cold

Turkey doesn't need any protection from Russia. It has second largest army in NATO right after US and can fend off Russia just fine all on its own. During Cold War it was a different story but times have changed and in fact, these days Turkey actually has quite cozy relations with Russia when you put aside the official rhetoric and look at what is actually happening.

alephnerd 3y ago
> days Turkey actually has quite cozy relations with Russia It's a frenemy relationship, similar to China-India in the 2012-2019 time period or Saudi and Qatar. Aside from the S-400 purchase, which was probably done in order to build a domestic clone similar to how TAI is attempting to build the Kaan, Russia-Turkey relations are largely economic in nature. At the NatSec or defense level, they clash directly. For example, Turkish intelligence has supported Crimean Turkish rebel groups, has supplied Ukraine with offensive UAVs for almost a decade, has shot down Russian planes (and vice versa), and directly vies with Russia in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. When shit hits the fan like in 2015, the US came in to mediate, though the US-Turkey relationship isn't as strong due to the Trump admin's missteps with supporting the YPG. That said, it's still a fairly strong strategic relationship, especially when compared to similar countries the US previously supported like Thailand or Malaysia, or even Greece+Cyprus and their heavy dependence on Russian weaponry (the only country in the NATO to actively buy Russian weapons until the Ukraine-Russia conflict in 2022 started). If Incirlik was shut down, then it would absolutely be a major pivot away from the US, but the military relationship has started to recover. For example, the Turkish Air Force has been integrated under a single command with American Air Force deployments in the Middle East since 2023.
int_19h 3y ago
Turkey and Russia are literally fighting a proxy war in Syria right now.

alephnerd 3y ago

> days Turkey actually has quite cozy relations with Russia It's a frenemy relationship, similar to China-India in the 2012-2019 time period or Saudi and Qatar. Aside from the S-400 purchase, which was probably done in order to build a domestic clone similar to how TAI is attempting to build the Kaan, Russia-Turkey relations are largely economic in nature. At the NatSec or defense level, they clash directly. For example, Turkish intelligence has supported Crimean Turkish rebel groups, has supplied Ukraine with offensive UAVs for almost a decade, has shot down Russian planes (and vice versa), and directly vies with Russia in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans. When shit hits the fan like in 2015, the US came in to mediate, though the US-Turkey relationship isn't as strong due to the Trump admin's missteps with supporting the YPG. That said, it's still a fairly strong strategic relationship, especially when compared to similar countries the US previously supported like Thailand or Malaysia, or even Greece+Cyprus and their heavy dependence on Russian weaponry (the only country in the NATO to actively buy Russian weapons until the Ukraine-Russia conflict in 2022 started). If Incirlik was shut down, then it would absolutely be a major pivot away from the US, but the military relationship has started to recover. For example, the Turkish Air Force has been integrated under a single command with American Air Force deployments in the Middle East since 2023.

int_19h 3y ago

Turkey and Russia are literally fighting a proxy war in Syria right now.