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Quick global update from Turkey to G 7 submit.

The reason behind Turkey opposing the new entries into NATO

Finland and Sweden have repeatedly been rebuffed by Turkey, which has been a member of NATO since 1952 and is the alliance’s second-largest military power.

Two weeks after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced his opposition to Finland and Sweden’s fast-track membership in NATO, leaders of the Nordic countries and NATO would meet Erdogan on Tuesday (June 28) to resolve the dispute.

In May, historically neutral Sweden and Finland first applied to join NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkey opposed their entry, claiming that the two Nordic nations supported Kurdish militant groups that it considered terrorist organizations.

As Erdogan’s spokesperson stated, “we won’t back down from our position in the face of his meeting with leaders of Sweden, Finland, and NATO.”

Turkey said on June 15 that both candidates did not meet its expectations and that any negotiations would need to address Turkish concerns.

Commentary: Why is Turkey against Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO? -  CNA

But when we say NATO, what actually is NATO? In response to the perceived threat of Soviet expansion in post-war Europe, the United States, Canada, and various western European countries established the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949.

NATO currently has 30 members, and according to article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, any country that can “contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region” can join.
Accession requires the approval of each member state. Greece vetoed North Macedonia’s bid to join NATO in 2008 because of a long-term dispute over the country’s name, “Macedonia.”.

Greece only granted its approval in 2018, after Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia, after which the country was formally admitted to NATO in March 2020.

NATO, which is essentially a collective security alliance, is committed to mutual defense if one member is attacked by another.

But when we say it according to article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the alliance’s main principle of collective defense is:

“The parties acknowledge and agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in North America or Europe shall be considered an attack against them all and that in the event of an attack, each party, as a matter of individual or collective self-defense, the United States, in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and jointly with the other parties, any action it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the peace and security of the North Atlantic region..”

Turkey may drop opposing NATO entry to Finland and Sweden

Finland and Sweden have repeatedly been rebuffed by Turkey, which has been a member of NATO since 1952 and is the alliance’s second-largest military power.

According to Erdogan, the region “is home to many terrorist organizations,” such as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG). For decades, the PKK has engaged in armed conflict with Turkey, at first seeking an independent Kurdish state but now seeking greater Kurdish autonomy and greater Kurdish rights within Turkey.

Turkey, the US, the UK, and the EU have designated the PKK as a terrorist organization. It has also been banned as a terrorist organization in Finland and Sweden.
Turkey wants the Nordic countries to make written commitments to suppress the PKK and YPG in Syria. A militia affiliated with the PKK, the YPG operates in northeastern Syria’s Rojava region. In the military campaigns against ISIS in Syria, they supported western forces and played a pivotal role in their defeat. Bloomberg reported that Turkey had accused the YPG of attacking its fighters near its border.

Turkey has been angered by Sweden and Finland refusing to extradite PKK members and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of instigating a failed coup in 2006.

In addition, Turkey wants Sweden and Finland to lift their restrictions on the sale of arms to the country, which were put in place after Ankara’s military campaign in Syria.

The roadblocks Erdogan has placed in Finland, and Sweden’s path to NATO membership may also have domestic causes, according to critics. Turkey is currently experiencing soaring inflation and rising costs of living. Turkey’s upcoming elections could benefit Erdogan’s image among the Turkish voter base if he emphasizes nationalist issues.

Stephanie Babst, a former NATO official, told the New York Times that this is primarily a message for his domestic constituency.

NATO - Topic: Collective defence - Article 5

There is an election ahead of him. Due to the gruesome economic situation in Turkey, he wants to demonstrate leadership. To demonstrate his leadership, he is, I am afraid to say, using Sweden and Finland to get across his strategic messages.” she said.

On June 20, the Turkish, Swedish, and Finnish sides resumed their talks following a hiatus of several weeks. In response, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said his country must have “binding promises” to comply with the request.

We don’t see a timetable as a constraint. As reported by Reuters, “the speed and scope of this process depend on how these nations meet our expectations.”

In light of Turkey’s announcement that it does not plan to accept Sweden and Finland at the NATO summit (June 28-30), it is unlikely that the matter will be resolved in the near future. According to Rose Gottemoeller, a former deputy secretary general of NATO, it will take the two Nordic countries at least one year to join the bloc, even if Turkey lifts its veto.

Upon joining NATO, Finland and Sweden will both be assured of military support from the alliance in case they are attacked by an external force.

By the time Finland becomes a member, the NATO borders with Russia would more than double, adding close to 1,300 km of border, according to the US think tank Council on Foreign Relations (CRF). In addition, NATO’s presence in the Baltic and Arctic seas will be strengthened.

NATO has already been a hot topic across the globe, and somewhere it is one of the reasons behind the Russia Ukraine war, and that has put many global leaders in new chaos and many different economic problems which they are trying to resolve.

What impact will the G-7 ban have on Russia?

EU @ G7 Summit 2022

As part of the latest round of sanctions against Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine, the Group of Seven will formally announce a ban on Russian gold imports. Here’s how the ban would work.

For the first time since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, Russia appears to have defaulted on its foreign debt, and the US and its allies are targeting the former Soviet Union’s second-largest export after energy – gold.

As part of the latest round of sanctions over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Group of Seven will announce a ban on Russian gold imports on Tuesday.

Russia is said to have used gold as a means of circumventing sanctions by supporting its currency with gold. This can be accomplished by swapping gold for a more liquid foreign currency that is not affected by current sanctions.

According to some experts, since only a few countries have implemented the gold ban, the move is largely symbolic, while others, including those in the administration, say a ban on Russian gold imports will target its ability to interact with the global financial system.

PM Draghi at the G7 Summit - Day one | www.governo.it

As Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday, gold is Russia’s second most lucrative export after energy, and nearly 90% of the revenue comes from G-7 countries, “cutting off that access, depriving Russia of about $19 billion in revenue every year, is significant.”

Blinken said, “They aren’t able to acquire what they need to modernize their defense sector, to modernize their technology, or to modernize their energy exploration.

After the United States issued sanctions against Russia for Putin’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, Russia began increasing its gold purchases.

US officials estimate that the country holds between $100 billion and $140 billion in gold reserves, which represents roughly 20% of the holdings of the Russian Central Bank.
Although Russia can still sell gold to countries outside the Group of Seven, it will affect the country’s ability to earn export revenues, according to Chris Weafer, a Russian economy analyst at consulting firm Macro-Advisory.

Since the sanctions were ratcheted up after February 24, it is that high level of export receipts that is sustaining the economy and the country.

In practice, this could result in civil or criminal penalties for people who come from countries where gold is banned from Russia.

Practically, this could result in secondary sanctions against people who trade with Russia and the seizure of gold exported to countries participating in the ban.

Several tons of Russian gold worth more than $202 million that entered Switzerland from the United Kingdom last month are being tracked by Swiss customs officials as part of their monitoring of possible violations of economic sanctions against Russia.

To further limit Russia’s access to its international reserves, the US and its allies banned financial transactions involving gold with the Central Bank of Russia in March. Russian gold trade was restricted after members of Congress called for it to be limited.

U.S. individuals, including gold dealers, distributors, wholesalers, buyers, and financial institutions, are generally prohibited from buying, selling, or facilitating gold-related transactions involving Russia and the various parties that have been sanctioned.

G7 Summit: PM Modi invites technology companies for clean energy, seeks  support of G7 countries

As with the thousands of sanctions imposed on Russia, the gold import ban is meant to isolate Russia economically, starve its funding arm, and prevent money laundering.

Boris Johnson said that the ban would “directly hit Russian oligarchs and strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine” at the G-7 meetings in Elmau, Germany.

It is a pointless and barbaric war that Putin is wasting his scarce resources on. Johnson said he was bankrolling his ego at the expense of Ukrainians and Russians alike.

As a result of the ban, a White House official is blocking off paths between the Russian economy and the global financial system as much as possible.

What is Partner in blue pacific?

Partners in the Blue Pacific' initiative - Read current affairs facts for  UPSC! - GKToday

The US and its allies have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ amid China’s aggressive push to expand its Pacific sphere of influence.

As China expands its sphere of influence in the Pacific, the US and its allies – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United Kingdom – have launched a new initiative called ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ to allow “effective and efficient cooperation” among small island nations in the region.

After China and ten Pacific nations pushed for sweeping, common cooperation agreements, the geostrategic competition in the region intensified.

As China signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April, there were serious concerns about the Chinese military getting a base near Guam and Australia and New Zealand in the southern Pacific.

The US and its allies were rattled by the deal, which boosted Beijing’s efforts to control crucial shipping lanes crossing the region. A power vacuum fuelled by an apparent lack of attention from the US also triggered action to counter China’s growing Pacific ambition.

Micronesian nations to quit Pacific's peak regional body, leaving it in  disarray - ABC News

Following that victory, Beijing’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged 10 Pacific nations to enact a “game-changing” agreement called the “Common Development Vision.”

According to a draft contract accessed by the Associated Press, China wants to work with “traditional and non-traditional security” as well as expand cooperation with these countries on law enforcement matters.

Wang Yi visited the Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea and held virtual meetings with the Cook Islands, Niue, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

After his tour, warnings of Pacific states becoming part of “Beijing’s orbit” sparked the deal to a halt. Chinese officials indicated that they would continue to pursue this goal despite the setback.

On June 27, the ABC reported that China was trying to arrange a virtual meeting between Wang Yi and the leaders of ten Pacific Island states during the high-level Pacific Islands Forum gathering in Fiji.

China and the US are among 21 PIF dialogue partners, but this year the regional forum decided not to meet in person with the dialogue partners in Fiji.

As part of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the US and its partners have partnered with 13 nations in the region, including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Fiji, and Vietnam.

Along with the Pacific, the G7 announced Monday (June 27) a plan to rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative by raising $600 billion to fund low- and middle-income development projects.

The US Department of Defence described the Indo-Pacific region as the “single most vital region to America’s future” in its 2019 strategy report.

From the west coast of the United States to the western shores of India, the region includes the world’s most populous country (China), the world’s most populous democracy (India), and the largest Muslim-majority nation (Indonesia).

The Indo-Pacific region is home to seven of the world’s largest standing armies, and six of its countries possess nuclear weapons. The region is home to nine of the world’s ten busiest seaports, and 60 percent of global maritime trade passes through Asia, with about a third of the world’s shipping passing through the South China Sea alone.”

In the region, the US has long maintained a balance of power through a hub-and-spoke system in which America is the hub, and its allies are spokes, whose security is guaranteed by the US military.

Despite insisting that the US policy of having an overwhelming influence on the region is solely designed to contain Beijing’s rise, analysts believe China is attempting to create its own version of the same system.

edited and proofread by nikita sharma

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