The Hill:
US could stop Turkey, not yet a Moscow ally, from caving to Russia
Soner Cagaptay, opinion contributor
Turkey’s recent decision to purchase S-400 missile defense system from Russia has sparked a debate in Washington that Ankara has switched sides by becoming a Russian ally. In reality, feeling isolated against a resurgent Russia, Turkey is caving under its historic nemesis. Washington needs to devise astute policies to prevent Ankara’s slide under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fold.
In the Turkish strategic thinking, no country is feared as much as Russia. This is deeply rooted in the history stretching back to the Ottoman Empire. Between the 15th century, when the Ottoman and Russian Empires became neighbors, and 1917, the year of the Bolshevik revolution, the Turks and Russians fought more than a dozen wars. All of them were instigated — and overall, won — by the Russians.
Ankara continued to fear Moscow throughout much of the 20th century. Turkey entered NATO, becoming a U.S. ally after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin demanded territory from Ankara in 1946.
Read more at: http://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/389243-us-could-stop-turkey-not-yet-a-moscow-ally-from-caving-to-russia
I know a lot of folks don't like Turkey, I don't for how they've treated their people under the alleged coup, they have now been listed as an unfree nation. There are also practical realities to consider. I'm certainly no expert.
