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Erdogan announced plans to annex territories of Syria to Turkey (news.am)

submitted 5 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a speech to fellow party members in Sakarya, promised to “revise the outcome of World War I and annex Syrian territories (formerly Ottoman provinces) into Turkey,” Telegram channel "Turkey's Top News" reported.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

Curious, if that happens, is that part of EU and NATO? Or are they (EU and NATO) gonna refuse to recognize it? 🤔

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Article 6

For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:

on the territory of any of the Parties in Europe or North America, on the Algerian Departments of France 2, on the territory of Turkey or on the Islands under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer;

on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in Europe in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Mediterranean Sea or the North Atlantic area north of the Tropic of Cancer.

I presume that the other NATO countries will refuse to recognize annexed areas as part of the territory of Turkey and so they will not be protected by the treaty. Note how the treaty already does not protect even internationally recognized parts of certain member countries (for example Hawaii).

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

What if the Syrians carry out retaliatory strikes in Turkey?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

From when Turkey first invaded Syria:

Ulrike Franke, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said it is "incredibly unlikely" that Turkey would invoke Article 5 in this situation. Asking for help would amount to an embarrassing "admission of failure" on Ankara's part. And even if Turkey did, Article 5 does not mandate NATO members to join the Syrian war on Turkey's side. It merely requires allies to assist with "such action as it deems necessary."

Source.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Syria no longer has the military power to pose a real threat to Turkey, so they likely wouldn't invoke article five anyway. Plus, if they invoke article five, they would then have all of NATO camped in their backyard. That would put a serious damper on any of the more egregious things Erdogan wants to get away with.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

It goes against the idea of NATO which is based off the United Nations Charter.

NATO is a defensive alliance where the respect for sovereignty and mutual defense is what makes it work.

Turkey going for annexation goes against the ideology of NATO by not respecting international sovereignty. NATO will never help them in a forceful annexation. But if everybody involved allows the annexation peacefully, eventually it will be accepted.

If Turkey annexes by force, there are 3 most likely possibilities: NATO kicks them out, NATO stays neutral and does not help (even when the Kurds/Syrians retaliate), or NATO keeps a defensive role at the border while ensuring humanitarian aid to the area.

Whether or not NATO recognizes the annexation will depend on a vote by the members (Most likely with a high approval requirement).