Erdogan Threatens To Abandon US Dollar In Trade With Russia
- Erdogan Threatens To Abandon US Dollar In Trade With Russia
by Tyler Durden, www.zerohedge.com
The unexpectedly sharp antagonism between Turkey and the west accelerated today, and one day after NATO preemptively reminded Turkey that it is still a NATO alliance member and advising Ankara that “Turkey’s NATO membership is not in question”, Turkey had some more choice words for its military allies. Cited by Reuters, Turkey foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Turkish’s NTV television on Thursday that the country “may seek other options outside NATO for defense industry cooperation, although its first option is always cooperation with its NATO allies.” Translation: if Russia (and/or China) gives us a better “defensive” offer, we just may take it.
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The sharply worded retort came on the same day that Turkey said it will resume airstrikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, and asked Russia to carry out joint operations against its “common enemy.” Ankara halted strikes after the downing of a Russian plane by Turkish forces last year.
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In the same interview, Cavusolgu said that Ankara “will again, in an active manner, with its planes take part in operations” against Islamic State targets. Cavusolgu also said that Ankara has called on Moscow to carry out joint operations against the “common enemy” of IS. “Let’s fight against the terrorist group together, so that we can clear it out as soon as possible,” Cavusolgu said, adding that otherwise IS will continue to expand and spread into other countries.
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To be sure, coming from the nation which directly engaged in oil trade with the Islamic State, this is at least a little ironic, however, what is notable is the significant pivot Turkey has made vis-a-vis military engagements, rotating not toward the US alliance, but toward the Kremlin.
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“We will discuss all the details. We have always called on Russia to carry out anti-Daesh [IS] operations together,” he said, adding that the proposal is still “on the table.” The foreign minister went on to tout the benefits of closer cooperation between Turkey and Russia.
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