Transcript: What Erdogan and Putin Know That NATO Doesn’t
Source: Prometheian Action (Susan Kokinda)
Key Points
For months, Europeans have been planning strategies to deal with Donald Trump at this week’s NATO summit. And it turns out the president almost didn’t go.
Trump’s statement: “I was very disappointed with NATO. And frankly, if it weren’t held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong uh person, I it’s possible that I wouldn’t have attend. I felt I had to attend because of the fact that, you know, I know he’s gone all out.”
Turkish President Erdogan picked up on that theme of a strong leader when he talked about Trump himself.
The Strategic Divide
Erdogan and Putin understand something European leaders and Mark Carney don’t. Trump’s visit to Turkey signals a new set of rules for foreign policy.
Key observations:
- Turkey has been prevented from F-35 purchases since 2017 when it bought S-400 missile defense systems from Russia
- A NATO country buying from Russia violates traditional alliance logic
- Erdogan has maintained contact with both Moscow and Kiev while NATO demanded he choose sides
- Trump recognizes Erdogan as a critical figure at a critical crossroads in Eurasia who is not playing by the rules of Britain’s great game
The European Miscalculation
On the eve of the NATO summit, Europeans marched in with a “splendid new defense posture” — announcing 50 billion in defense spending, “resiliency,” and a stronger European defense industry.
But reality had already left them behind:
- German industrial production is collapsing
- Volkswagen expected to cut 100,000 jobs and close 4 plants
- Britain shut down steel furnaces in 2024, now down to a single plant on government life support
- This is the steel needed for warships and submarines
Canada’s Mark Carney announced a 20-30 billion submarine contract to Germany — a de-industrializing Canada buying submarines from a de-industrializing Germany.
Putin’s July 4th Phone Call
The 85-minute call between Putin and Trump on July 4th was significant. According to Putin’s spokesman Yuri Ushikov:
- The conversation began with Putin congratulating Trump and the American people
- They recalled Russia’s contribution to American statehood
- The presidents noted the importance of treasuring historical heritage
- This shared heritage placed Russia on America’s side against the British going back to the Revolutionary War
The Historical Context
Russia under Catherine the Great organized the League of Armed Neutrality to break Britain’s grip on the seas during the American Revolution. When America fought the Civil War against the British-supported Confederacy, the Russian fleet sailed into New York and San Francisco harbors in 1863 as a warning to London.
This turn deepened the British Empire’s fear of Russia as a threat to its “great game” in Eurasia.
The Core Thesis
President Trump is building a different set of alliances with nations that act in their own interests. Turkey plays by its own rules — not the imposed role in a world of perpetual division.
Nations should deal with each other as they actually are, under a growing revival of American system economics — not through financial architecture when the industrial base no longer exists to support it.
Reference material for geopolitical analysis on Somaliland, Turkey, Israel, and US relations.