NATO "survived" and is moving forward, thanks to a very strong year. Exactly a year ago, the promise to increase defense spending was made. This was stated by Elena Poptodorova on BNT in connection with the recently concluded NATO summit held in Ankara.
The meeting is successful because the alliance did not collapse and there were no cataclysms, commented political analyst Kristijan Škvarek. "When something is held together by a hair at every moment and we rejoice at every meeting whether this alliance has collapsed or everything has been successful because it has not reached a cataclysm, this indicates that this alliance is not in good condition", he believes.
These summits remind me that history is not over and we are not talking about a future in which we sit down and collectively discuss our values and collective interests. This meeting does not look like the 22nd century, but takes me back to the 19th, because several camps sit down at the table and always start negotiating about their own personal geopolitical interests, he added.
According to him, the big winner from the NATO meeting, besides Ukraine, is Turkey. "It is positioning itself extremely strongly. Turkey is proving that it is returning as an extremely strong regional factor. And this should worry Bulgaria. Turkey has a fundamental geopolitical interest in expanding its influence in the three points - the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Levant. Bulgaria is located in one of the three points and is on the path of Ankara's permanent interest in expanding its influence in the Balkans. Bulgaria is directly affected by Turkey's desire and need to return as an influence in the Balkans. It is obvious that it is a concern and a red light that should be on in a country of 6 million located next to a country of 90 and a few million", Škvarek also pointed out.
The US-Turkey relationship will determine both the internal state of NATO and the actions of the organization as a whole. This is a new element as long as this "special relationship" that President Trump is demonstrating exists. He announced that he is going to Turkey because of Erdogan. We have these relations, but Ankara's gaze is not turned north. Erdogan is outwitted, he knows where he can have serious weight. Ankara will seek influence where it can establish itself as a leading power, commented Elena Poptodorova.