Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh: The CIA carried out the Nord Stream bombing

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh: The CIA carried out the Nord Stream bombing

    Thursday, February 09, 2023   No comments

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh blamed the US administration for the bombing of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline, which took place last September.

According to a report by the veteran journalist, the bombing of an underwater gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea was a covert operation ordered by the White House and carried out by the CIA.

In a 5,000-word lengthy report, Hirsch wrote that the operation was disguised "under the guise of a widely publicized NATO mid-summer exercise known as Operation Baltic-22" that took place this past June. .

In the report, Hersh says that the American divers in the deep sea used NATO military exercises as a cover, and planted mines along the pipelines, which were later remotely detonated.

The famous American journalist added that the "black operation" was ordered by President Biden, and the attack was carried out by the CIA in cooperation with Norway.

He added that Biden's decision to sabotage the pipelines came after more than 9 months of top-secret planning within the US national security community.

Speaking about his source, Hirsch said: "At the time, the issue was not whether the task should be done, but how to get it done without a clear clue as to who was responsible."

In his report, Hersh included statements and information that he considered as indications of the US administration's responsibility for the attack, describing its behavior as a result of complete insistence.

The journalist mentioned that Biden met in his office, in the White House, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, less than 3 weeks before the Russian military operation that began at that time in Ukraine, and he had defiantly said in the press conference that followed the meeting: “If Russia invaded Ukraine, There will be no Nord Stream 2, and we will put an end to it."

Hersh continued in this context, recalling that the US Undersecretary of State, Victoria Nuland, had delivered the same message in a press briefing at the Ministry, with little press coverage. In response to a question at the time, she said: "I want to be very clear with you today, if Russia invades Ukraine, Nord Stream 2 will somehow not move forward."

The American journalist Hersh, known for his investigative reports on American crimes in Vietnam and the Middle East wars, was able to obtain information about the operation from an unnamed source, but he stated that he was directly involved in its preparation, as he put it.

It is noteworthy that Hersh was the one who revealed the torture scandal in the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison, which sparked a global outcry and widespread condemnation of the US administration.

For its part, the Pentagon responded to Hersh's report and said that the United States had nothing to do with the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Today, Department Spokesperson Jaron Gorn stated that the United States was not involved in the Nord Stream explosion, as he referred to the speech of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper, who claimed on October 4 that "the United States was not involved in any Anyway" in this matter.

On the other hand, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that all the facts cited by the American journalist in his investigation, about the role of the United States in the sabotage of "Nord Stream", must be commented on by the White House.

Zakharova added that Moscow has repeatedly expressed Russia's position on the involvement of the United States and NATO in this incident.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman stressed that the West did not hide this, adding, "The West was bragging to the whole world about its intention to destroy the civilian infrastructure through which Europe obtained Russian energy resources."

Last Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a joint interview on the "Russia 24" channel and the "Novosti" agency, accused the United States of being directly involved in the bombing of the "Nord Stream" gas pipeline.

Last September, a series of powerful explosions destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which pass through the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany and provide cheap gas to Europe, and it was soon revealed that the attack was an act of deliberate sabotage. The perpetrator has not yet been identified.

War narratives and justifications: the case of war in Ukraine

War narratives and justifications: the case of war in Ukraine

    Tuesday, February 07, 2023   No comments

War is never a simple "bad versus good", "right versus wrong"; every war has its competing narratives and justifications; the 2022 war in Ukraine is no different. The same applies to the wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and all the wars whose justifications were reduced to bad-versus-good.

Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs presents this narrative, in an interview on “Winter of Our Discontent” forum - Belgrade, Serbia.

“I'm deeply unimpressed with the analysis that the war in Ukraine began on 24 February, by an unprovoked attack by President Putin - it's just not true.”

 

Only three Muslims-majority countries, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco provide some form of military aid to Ukraine

Only three Muslims-majority countries, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco provide some form of military aid to Ukraine

    Thursday, February 02, 2023   No comments

When will the war in Ukraine be declared a world war?

With almost all NATO member states and EU countries now openly providing weapons to Ukraine, pressure will be buidling on the rest of the world to take clear position on this conflict--though Russia has not openly asked for any military assistance from what it calls "friendly nationa states."

It should be noted also that only three Muslim-majority countries, Turkey, Pakistan and Morocco, provide some form of military aid to Ukraine.

From Europe, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Moldova still observe conditional neutrality.

Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

    Monday, January 23, 2023   No comments

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will denounce the Swedish authorities' permission for the leader of the far-right Danish "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, to burn a copy of the Holy Qur'an in the capital, Stockholm, and stressed that such crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of expression.

Çavuşoğlu said that they "do not allow the burning of books of other religions, but when it comes to the Holy Qur'an and hostility to Islam, they immediately invoke freedom of thought and expression."

The Turkish minister stressed that hate and racism crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of thought and expression, whether according to Swedish laws or decisions of the Council of Europe or the European Court of Human Rights.

He pointed out that Turkey was quick to take the necessary steps as soon as it learned that the Swedish authorities had allowed the extremist in Al-Wadan to burn a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Ankara embassy building in Stockholm.

Davutoglu indicated that the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara to the ministry's headquarters and issued the necessary warnings to him, explaining that the Turkish ambassador to Stockholm, Yonat Janzel, spoke directly with the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom in this regard.

He expressed his hope that the Swedish authorities would take the necessary measures at the last minute and prevent this racist and hate crime from happening, which would cause outrage in the entire world.

After the event, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Sweden should no longer wait for Ankara to take any step within the framework of accepting its accession to NATO, in light of the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm.

Erdogan added, "You want to support terrorist organizations, and you support those who are hostile to Islam, and you want us to support your joining NATO... This will not happen at all."

And the Turkish president added, "We say clearly... Sweden is no longer waiting for any support from us for its accession to NATO... We say clearly that no one has the right to insult our sacred values."

Last Saturday, the Swedish-Danish extremist Ramsos Paludan carried out what he promised to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, amid great police protection and a large media presence.

Dmitry Medvedev: the loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war

Dmitry Medvedev: the loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war

    Thursday, January 19, 2023   No comments

While Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, maintains his distance from social media, former president and former prime minister and the likely future president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, uses social media to deliver the kind of thinking that is guiding Russia's military and diplomatic policies and activities. Here is his recent statement:

Tomorrow, at NATO's Ramstein base, the great military leaders will discuss new tactics and strategies, as well as the supply of new heavy weapons and strike systems to Ukraine. And this was right after the forum in Davos, where underdeveloped political party-goers repeated like a mantra: "To achieve peace, Russia must lose."

And it never occurs to any of the poor to draw the following elementary conclusion from this: the loss of a nuclear power in a conventional war can provoke the outbreak of a nuclear war. The nuclear powers did not lose major conflicts on which their fate depends.

But this should be obvious to anyone. Even to a Western politician who has retained at least some trace of intelligence.

On January 22, Medvedev added this statement:

Meeting in Ramstein and

the allocation of heavy weapons to Kyiv leaves no doubt that our enemies will indefinitely try to wear us down, or rather, destroy us. And they have enough weapons. If necessary, they will start producing new ones. Therefore, there is no need for illusions. What are the conclusions from this? First, it will be very difficult. Secondly, in the event of a protracted conflict, at some point a new military alliance will form from those countries that the Americans and their pack of castrated dogs got. This has always happened in the history of mankind during long wars. And then the States will finally throw old Europe and the remnants of the unfortunate Ukrainians, and the world will again come to a state of equilibrium.

Unless, of course, it's too late.

On January 28, Medvedev added this commentary on the new developments:

There are no number of fools in the power structures of Europe.

Some Minister of Defense of Italy called the supply of armored vehicles and other weapons to Ukraine as the prevention of a third world war. A rare eccentric with the letter "m".

The neighbors of a gifted minister from an evil misty kingdom with an empire complex went even further. They say that all the weapons that NATO has should be "right now" provided to Kyiv. And fighters, and hundreds of tanks, and long-range missile systems. Like this is the only way to prevent the expansion of Russia and, again, a world war.

Firstly, the protection of Ukraine, which no one needs in Europe, will not save the decrepit Old World from retribution, if something happens. Secondly, if the third world war starts, then, alas, it will not be on tanks and not even on fighters. Then for sure - everything is in ruins.

However, what to expect from an entrepreneur with an incomplete higher education and his stupid neighbors who pumped themselves up during a pandemic right at their workplaces located at 10 Downing Street. Although the spirit of W. Churchill would be pleased with the successors.

On January 31, 2023, Medvedev added this commentary:

Enemy countries do not have the courage to admit that their "hellish" sanctions have failed miserably. Does not work. The vast majority of industrial products and consumer goods were replaced by our own, Russian, and the missing ones - by Asian brands. Parallel imports also work, from which we get the same Western brands, and their owners get nothing. So everything is as always: the Americans earn on a humiliated Europe. Crushed Europe endures and loses money. At the same time, even the IMF predicts economic growth in Russia this year.

It remains only to adopt the rules on the use of their intellectual property. Without any licenses and payment of royalties. This, among other things, will be our retaliatory sanctions on their property rights. For everything from movies to industrial software. Thanks, by the way, to those who have developed various programs for the unlicensed use of their expensive intellectual products. In short, for piracy in personal sanctions mode😄. What, à la guerre comme à la guerre...

...

Chechens and Caucasus, Albanians and Uzbeks are moving to Idlib to fight in Ukraine

Chechens and Caucasus, Albanians and Uzbeks are moving to Idlib to fight in Ukraine

    Sunday, January 15, 2023   No comments

Intersectional reports indicate that foreign fighters from extremist groups have begun to migrate from Idlib in northern Syria towards Ukraine to fight the Russian army there, and reports say that most of those who move to eastern Europe are Chechen and Caucasian battalion fighters, Uzbek and Tajik fighters, and a group of Albanian fighters, and the vast majority belong to These fighters belong to the ranks of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” which was formerly “Al-Nusra Front,” linked to Al-Qaeda and led by “Abu Muhammad al-Julani.”

Accounts of activists in the areas controlled by extremist groups in northern Syria speak of the departure of dozens of foreign fighters since the beginning of this year. These fighters, according to the details of the battles in the past years in Syria, are considered the most ferocious and experienced in martial arts and street warfare.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 170 people have left the Syrian territory in batches since last October, and all of them are from the Caucasus and Chechens. They headed towards a European country based on pressure and a request by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham.

It is not known until now the mechanism for the transfer of dangerous fighters, who are classified as terrorists by the countries of the world, from Idlib in northern Syria to eastern Europe, and whether American or Western intelligence agencies are working to involve these fighters in the war against the Russian forces in an organized manner, and to repeat the model of the war in Afghanistan during the occupation Soviet. Where the American intelligence formed Al-Qaeda in partnership with Saudi and Pakistani intelligence to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan, and after this was achieved, the states sought to eliminate the organization by launching direct attribution to the occupation of the country, and pursuing Al-Qaeda fighters, and it is also unknown whether these groups were fighting under the command of the Ukrainian army or in coordination with NATO. Their peers have already fought in Libya under the command of NATO.

The dissident Salafist from Tahrir al-Sham, Ali al-Arjani, said on Telegram, “The Caucasus and Albanian group leave Idlib for Ukraine, because they found that Ukraine is more free for them than Idlib, and the battles in it are real, and it seems that they are following the old fatwa of Ayman Haroush, that going out to the country of the infidels is better.” From sitting in Idlib under the authority of Abu Muhammad al-Julani.” A video recording was published showing Abdul Hakim al-Shishani (Rustam Azif), the leader of the Caucasus Soldiers group, and his group fighting against Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and Russian media published the video recording, indicating that the United States had begun using terrorist groups to support the Ukrainian army.

A state of disagreements prevailed between some of these groups, which are based on foreign fighters, and between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its leader al-Julani in northern Syria, as al-Julani tried to domesticate and control these groups in the context of the changes that occurred in al-Julani's approach in an attempt to enter the political space and satisfy Turkey on the one hand and flirt with the United States On the other hand, to ensure the consolidation of his control over Idlib and some of the northern Syrian countryside.

How the West Brought War to Ukraine

How the West Brought War to Ukraine

    Thursday, December 15, 2022   No comments

Recently, a member of the European Parliament from Ireland, Claire Daly, reminded the world of what the West avoids talking about, remembering, or even referring to: NATO’s attack on Libya and the murder of Muammar Gaddafi. The European politician described Libya after NATO's intervention making it a country "torn by conflicts, its economy is ruined, and its population, which was once the richest in Africa, has been dragged into poverty and drowned in it." Immigrants are bought and sold in slave markets. One million people hope for humanitarian aid. This is a country of mass graves and crimes against humanity. This is NATO's legacy, this is NATO's strategy for human rights and democracy,” She concluded.

Here, another essay describing NATO’s role in the current dangerous crisis in Ukraine.

For almost 200 years, starting with the framing of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the United States has asserted security claims over virtually the whole Western hemisphere. Any foreign power that places military forces near U.S. territory knows it is crossing a red line. U.S. policy thus embodies a conviction that where a potential opponent places its forces is crucially important. In fact, this conviction is the cornerstone of American foreign and military policy, and its violation is considered reason for war.

Yet when it comes to Russia, the United States and its NATO allies have acted for decades in disregard of this same principle. They have progressively advanced the placement of their military forces toward Russia, even to its borders. They have done this with inadequate attention to, and sometimes blithe disregard for, how Russian leaders might perceive this advance. Had Russia taken equivalent actions with respect to U.S. territory — say, placing its military forces in Canada or Mexico — Washington would have gone to war and explained that war as a defensive response to the military encroachment of a foreign power.

When viewed through this lens, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is seen not as the unbridled expansionism of a malevolent Russian leader but as a violent and destructive reaction to misguided Western policies: an attempt to reestablish a zone around Russia’s western border that is free of offensive threats from the United States and its allies. Having misunderstood why Russia invaded Ukraine, the West is now basing existential decisions on false premises. In doing so, it is deepening the crisis and may be sleepwalking toward nuclear war.

This argument, which I now present in detail, is based on the analyses of a number of scholars, government officials, and military observers, all of whom I introduce and quote from in the course of the presentation. These include John Mearsheimer, Stephen F. Cohen, Richard Sakwa, Gilbert Doctorow, George F. Kennan, Chas Freeman, Douglas Macgregor, and Brennan Deveraux.

...read this essay as on author's medium page.

Zelensky for the Group of Twenty: Poland hit a "message" from Moscow to you; Biden: The explosion in Poland was caused by a Ukrainian missile

Zelensky for the Group of Twenty: Poland hit a "message" from Moscow to you; Biden: The explosion in Poland was caused by a Ukrainian missile

    Wednesday, November 16, 2022   No comments

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy considered today, in a speech broadcast via video to the leaders of the Group of Twenty meeting on the Indonesian island of Bali, that the missile strike in Poland “is nothing but a message from Russia to the G20 summit.”

Zelensky also warned them of the existence of "a terrorist state among you, against which we have to defend ourselves," as he put it, referring to Russia.

 This comes while the Polish army is still on high alert today, after a missile landed in a village in the southeast of the country near the border with Ukraine. While statements and meetings rush to understand the details of the incident, it seems that there is a strong possibility that Russia is not the source of the launch of this missile, which is most likely “Russian-made.”

Biden contradicts Zelenskiy

 Today, a source in NATO told Reuters that US President Joe Biden informed the Group of Seven and NATO partners that the explosion in Poland was caused by a missile fired by Ukrainian air defense.

In turn, the Belgian Minister of Defense, Ludivine Dedondre, said today that the explosion that killed two people in eastern Poland was "the result of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense systems used to intercept Russian missiles."

 And the minister added, in a statement, that “the investigations are continuing, and there is currently no indication that it was a deliberate attack,” noting that Ukraine had previously accused Russia of targeting Polish territory with a missile strike.

 Immediately after the attack, Poland discussed the need to activate Article 4 of the NATO Charter. The call was resisted by NATO members and Russia saw it as a premeditated provocation intended to justify an attack on Russia.

France called for caution when making accusations about the source of the Poland missile.

France called for "extreme caution" about the source of the missile that fell in Poland, especially since "several countries" in the region possess the same type of weapon, warning of a "great risk of escalation."

And the French presidency said: "Given the stakes, it is logical that we deal with the issue with the utmost caution," noting that there are "great risks of escalation in the region."

One of the French president's advisors pointed out that "a lot of equipment and weapons" are concentrated in and around Ukraine, adding that "a large number of countries possess the same type of weapons, and therefore determining the type of missile does not necessarily mean determining who launched it."

Erdogan: I am sure Russia did not fire a missile at Poland

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed today, Wednesday, that he trusts Russian statements regarding its denial of involvement in the Poland incident.

On Tuesday evening, the Russian Ministry of Defense denied the news that a Russian missile had fallen on Poland, stressing that it aims to provoke a "deliberate provocation with the aim of escalation."

 Erdogan called, during a press conference on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, for "a detailed investigation into the fall of missiles on a village in Poland," adding that "the insistence that the missiles fired at Poland are Russian-made is nothing but a provocation."

 Medvedev: The West is approaching a world war

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said today, Wednesday, that the alleged missile attack on Polish soil shows that the West is approaching another world war.

 Medvedev wrote on Twitter, "The incident of the missile strike on a Polish farm proves only one thing: waging war by all means against Russia, and the West is approaching a world war."

 Yesterday, Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had not directed strikes against targets near the Ukrainian-Polish border, noting that "talk about Russian missiles falling in Poland is a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the conflict."

 Zelenskiy's rush to push for the invocation of NATO's Art. 4 and 5, if proven to be planned would anger NATO members and undercut his credibility. Worse, for him, should that be the case, and should an actual attack by Russia on other NATO members, world leaders would be more cautious and perhaps suspect Ukraine before they accuse Russia. Call it the boy who cried wolf effect.

Immediately after two people were killed by a missile in Polish territory, heading pressure from Zelenskiy whose country is not a NATO member, the Polish government announced that it would consider whether it would need to activate Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which calls for emergency consultations in the event of a threat to a member state.

And in the event that it is decided that Moscow is responsible for the explosion, this may lead to the launch of the principle of collective defense of NATO known as “Article 5”, as an attack on a member of the Western alliance is considered an attack on everyone.

NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that the alliance is closely evaluating the situation in Poland and is awaiting clarity of data and data.

 What are Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO Charter... and what are they related to the Poland explosion?

The NATO Charter, "Article 4" differs from "Article 5", as the latter specifies military assistance by the entire alliance in the event of an attack on one of the member states.

 Article 4 of the NATO Treaty gives the right to any member state of the alliance that feels threatened by another country or a terrorist organization, to submit a request for the thirty member states to start formal consultations to decide whether the threat exists and how to confront it, while reaching unanimous decisions.

 Under this article, the parties are to consult together, at the request of any of the member states, about the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the allied states.

 Article 5 is the cornerstone of the founding treaty of NATO, created in 1949 with the US military as its mainstay of strength primarily to counter the Soviet Union and its satellites in the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.

 The Charter states that NATO members agree that an armed attack against one or more of them "shall be regarded as an attack against all of them."

 In the event of such an attack, each NATO member would assist the attacked country in whatever action it "deems necessary". This could include the use of armed force with the aim of restoring and maintaining security in the North Atlantic region.

 

How is the war in Ukraine being fought?

How is the war in Ukraine being fought?

    Saturday, June 25, 2022   No comments

To understand why the conflict in Ukraine will drag on for years, not months, a look at the tactics used in battles by both sides could help.

Over the past 8 years, Ukrainian forces in the east have worked continuously to establish fighting positions and defensive positions against the forces fighting for autonomy in the east. With Russia now directly involved, on the ground, those tactical measures are falling apart.

Russian forces are using modern technologies to dismantle these military positions. To do that, they are turning to highly mobile units to move quickly, eliminate the threat, and move on to the next target. 

These methods have been used in Syria, and Russia’s experience in that war is being used to fight this war. 

This means that the war will go on for years.

The challenges of building national, regional and global secirity systems

The challenges of building national, regional and global secirity systems

    Tuesday, June 21, 2022   No comments

Erdogan vows a decisive response and a Greek general threatens to bomb Istanbul .. The "Aegean" crisis raises the tension between Ankara and Athens to its most dangerous stage

Tensions are escalating between the two NATO allies, Turkey and Greece, after Ankara accused Athens of arming 12 islands in the Aegean Sea near Turkish territory, in addition to the chronic dispute over the file of natural gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.

The tension reached the point where the retired Greek general, Yiannis Egolfopoulos, threatened to bomb the vital bridges of Istanbul, which was met with Turkish criticism, most notably by the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahçeli, who said, “It seems that the Greeks forgot the fate of their ancestors who were buried at the bottom of a sea Aegean.”

The escalation reached its climax after the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, accused Turkey of destabilizing the island of Cyprus in front of members of the US Congress recently, and demanded Washington not to sell Ankara F-16 fighters.

Erdogan: decisive response

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to him, during his participation in the "Efes 2022" military maneuvers, that his country is serious about responding decisively to Greece, and that the latter should realize its borders and abide by them.

As a result of these statements, the military clash became the talk of the street and the media on both sides.

Military option

In light of the escalation of statements, the retired Turkish general, Erdogan Karagosh, said that a war between Turkey and Greece was inevitable, calling for the need to strengthen the strength of the Turkish Air Force.

“We have to get new F-16 fighters by any means, and maintain the ones we have,” Qaragosh said, in an interview with one of the private Turkish channels, according to the Al-Jazeera report.

He added that Turkey has no problem with its land and naval forces, "but we must strengthen the strength of our air force, because in the event of any military conflict between the two countries, the air force will resolve the situation, and in the event that we do not obtain new fighters, the balance will tip in favor of Greece." .

In turn, the Turkish expert in military and security affairs, Mateh Yarar, ruled out the outbreak of any direct military clash between the two countries, indicating that Athens relies in its verbal escalation on the West's support for it, and that it will not be able to engage in a military confrontation against Turkey, given "the disparity in the balance of power between the two sides." ”

Yarar pointed out - in a statement to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet - that Ankara calls on Greece to abide by the Lausanne agreements in 1923 and Paris in 1947, which stipulate keeping the mentioned islands demilitarized, referring to Athens' pledge before the major powers at the time to abide by this condition.

sovereign right

On the other hand, the Greek political analyst, Taki Barbarakis, said in an interview with the Turkish "Khabar Turk" channel, that talk about the possibility of a military clash between Ankara and Athens has increased recently among Greek politicians and even among the general public.

He pointed out that there is great popular support for the Greek government regarding the issue of arming the Aegean islands, and that public opinion in Greece believes that arming the islands is a sovereign right of Athens stemming from the Charter of the United Nations.

According to the Greek analyst, Athens relies on arming the Aegean islands on Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which provides for the “right of self-defense”; Her government has repeatedly announced that it has taken this step in order to counter any potential threat from Turkey. She pointed out that the "Aegean Sea" army, which Turkey formed outside the NATO command, has a landing fleet on the coasts near the islands.

Turkish opposition

In parallel with the debate between Ankara and Athens, the Turkish opposition entered the line, accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party governments of neglecting the issue of the Aegean islands, and went on to consider that President Erdogan and his governments did not take the necessary measures in time, and that Greece intensified its arming of the islands after the arrival of Justice and Development to power in the country in 2002.

In this context, the former deputy of the opposition Republican People's Party, Mustafa Balbay, says that Greece has begun to intensify arming the islands near the Turkish shores since 2004, and has also settled civilians on these islands.

"Where were the justice and development governments at that time?" Balpay asked. Why did Erdogan’s governments not take deterrent measures at that time?”

In his opinion, President Erdogan's recent statements regarding Greece's arming of the Aegean islands are nothing but "media propaganda, in preparation for the upcoming presidential elections" scheduled for June 2023.

real occupation

Balpay sees Greece's arming the Aegean islands as a real occupation, especially with Athens also housing civilians on these islands, and called on President Erdogan to focus on the issue of "occupation" during his talks with the leaders of the countries concerned with this issue.

The former deputy called for taking more necessary measures and preparing for all possibilities, including the military option, indicating that in the event of any armed conflict, Turkey will not only face Greece, but will also face major global powers, led by the United States of America, which recently began establishing bases Large military in the Greek islands near Turkey.

NATO and Other Security Structures

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto expressed hope on Tuesday that progress will be made in the ongoing talks with Turkey on Helsinki's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Niinistö said during a press conference with the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Mitsola, that "Finland continues talks with Turkey about joining NATO, and we hope to make progress in those negotiations."

"I think it will be difficult to reach an agreement before the Madrid [NATO summit]," he added.

The Finnish president indicated that he does not believe that his country's accession procedures to NATO can be completed by next September.

And the Finnish presidency announced yesterday that "a new round of negotiations conducted by Finland and Sweden with Turkey will be held in Brussels," against the backdrop of Ankara's objection to the two countries' request to join NATO.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin confirmed yesterday that the progress of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO is linked to the steps that these two countries will take, in line with the words of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few days ago.

Last Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that "Turkey will send a document to Sweden and Finland to form the basis for negotiating the two countries' accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)," adding during a press conference with the Foreign Ministers of Ireland and Norway in Ankara: "We must Reaching an understanding with Sweden and Finland on how to meet our demands."

Erdogan also stressed during the meeting of the parliamentary bloc of the "Justice and Development Party", Wednesday, that his country "will not change its position regarding the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO until they take clear and tangible steps towards combating terrorism." "We will not forgive any countries that support terrorist organizations that threaten Turkey," he added.

And last May, talks were held in Turkey between Turkish officials and delegations from Sweden and Finland. Sources told "Reuters" that "the talks made little progress in addressing the motives behind Ankara's objection to the two countries joining NATO."

Turkey, the conflict of NATO and the Collective Security Organization

Turkey has tended to sell arms to Central Asian countries, to perpetuate the idea that it is able to guarantee the defense capacity of countries that revolve in its ideological, social, economic and military orbit.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization cannot be seen as the only military bloc and force in the world. It is possible to rely on the assessment of the CSTO’s bloc as an almost parallel bloc, as it includes countries that enjoy an important military power, such as Russia, Belarus and Armenia, in addition to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan; Countries considered full members, some members as observers, and others as potential candidates, such as Iran.

At a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in the Armenian capital recently, the speaker of the Kyrgyz parliament indicated that the organization’s crisis response system and confronting escalating security challenges and threats constitutes an essential element of its activity, including the fight against international terrorism and extremism.

Also, he noted the need for Member States to deepen interaction to ensure a timely response, and stressed the need to focus the organization's efforts, not only on confronting challenges and security threats, but also on "eliminating the causes of their occurrence", and suggested the establishment of an entire military-political structure on the basis of a treaty organization. collective security.

The Russian Foreign Minister also noted that NATO countries are concerned about the growing importance of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and stressed the need for it to play the role of "a guarantor of balance in the Euro-Atlantic region" and the indivisibility of security.

On May 16, a meeting of the heads of state of the Collective Security Treaty Organization was held in Moscow, during which the Russian president indicated that “NATO expansion is artificial, and goes beyond its geographical objective,” in an attempt to influence other regions, and noted that the CSTO “plays a role extremely important in stabilizing the former Soviet Union,” which encourages other countries to “consider joining the CSTO, which has sufficient capabilities to respond to the challenges of NATO expansion.”

However, the "Western European flock" continues its attempts to counter the influence of the organization, by preoccupying its members with their security, as well as by turning Turkey, as the spearhead of NATO, into a lever for anti-Russian influence, through escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh. At the request of Brussels and Washington, Ankara tried to play an active role in resolving this conflict, by exploiting Moscow’s lukewarm intervention in its results, and tried to offer a trade-off for the military alliance of the countries of the region with it, in exchange for accepting its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

With the aim of enhancing its importance in the region, Turkey pumped its investments, sent preachers, opened centers for educational programs in the Central Asian region, and circulated the terms and concepts of "Uzbek Turks", "Tatar Turks" and "Kyrgyz Turks" in its media, and began talking about the "Turkish world" And it established the “Turkish Council”, in parallel with the intensification of its activity in spreading the ideas of Turkish nationalism, as it seeks to create a new and alternative ethnic national identity for the post-Soviet republics, and to replace the region’s original society with a new fake one under Turkish leadership.

Turkey has also tended to sell arms to Central Asian countries, to perpetuate the idea that it is able to guarantee the defense capacity of countries that revolve in its ideological, social, economic and military orbit. Thus, it is trying to open the way towards Erdogan's project known as the "Great Turan" to restore the lands of the Ottoman Empire, by focusing on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, to create a unified army for the Turan project, with the aim of extricating these countries and withdrawing them from the Collective Security Organization, and weakening the Eurasian Union militarily and economically.

As in the past, in order to create a permanent and constant threat to Russia, Britain created the Ottoman Empire. Today, both London and Washington are using Turkey as a member of NATO to confront Russia, especially in the Central Asian region, by proposing Erdogan the idea of ​​"the Great Turan", which is supposed to be able to bring about a radical change in the international balance of power.

For these purposes, the Westerners bear the filth of dealing with the Turkish president and his government, and suffer to see an “Asian NATO” under the Turkish leadership. The hostility of the Russian state makes them unable to determine the interests of their peoples, and unable to guarantee the Turkish-Erdogan fulfillment of their plans, amid the Turks’ dissatisfaction with their presence in NATO. In light of the mutual distrust between the two parties.

In the midst of this atmosphere, we are hearing some of Ankara’s Atlantic allies talking about the need to exclude it from the alliance, and they are closely following its positive contacts with Russia, which contributes to pushing Turkey to abandon its historical anti-Russian role, with the Turkish President’s assertion and his recent statements about Turkey’s unwillingness To participate in the anti-Russian sanctions policy imposed by Washington.

Turkish FM says some NATO states want Ukrainian war to continue

Turkish FM says some NATO states want Ukrainian war to continue

    Thursday, April 21, 2022   No comments

Some NATO member countries want the Russia-Ukraine war to prolong so Russia gets weaker, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on April 20, stressing that rival states must not see Ukraine as an arena of competition.

 

“After the talks in Istanbul, we did not think that the war would take this long. There are those who want this war to continue,” the minister told broadcaster CNN Türk.

 

“But, following the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting, it was the impression that... there are those within the NATO member states that want the war to continue, let the war continue and Russia gets weaker. They don’t care much about the situation in Ukraine,” he added.

 

Çavuşoğlu stressed that Ukraine must not be seen as an arena of competition.

  

Source: Hurriyet Daily News

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