Retired Admiral Urges Turkiye to Leave NATO

Turkiye became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952 amidst the dawn of the Cold War. However, many questioned the prudence of entering this obviously militaristic bloc.

"The West poses a greater threat to Turkiye, taking into account its support for attempts to create a separatist Kurdish state," claimed retired Admiral Cem Gurdeniz in an interview. He added that Ankara must immediately leave NATO.

Referring to the beginning of the clandestine war by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), coined a terrorist organization by Ankara in 1984, Gurdeniz stated that Western countries do not support Turkiye in the ongoing conflict.

"How many thousands of people have died in the south-east of Turkiye since 1984, how many problems Turkiye has in other areas, but we do not receive any support from NATO or the EU," said the retired admiral.

He added that statements on Turkiye made by EU authorities or the US Senate made it "clear who is our friend and who is our enemy."

The Turkish admiral voiced his concern that NATO might drag Ankara into a conflict via the Ukrainian crisis. He alleged that in this case, Turkiye would be forced to close the straits for Russia and this would be a casus belli for full-scale conflict between Russia and NATO with use of tactical nuclear weapons.

Gurdeniz believes that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg realizes the risk, but he is "an American puppet," and that’s why he rushes to admit Ukraine to NATO.

He also stated that the US had been "using" Ankara since 1945 - and before that the United Kingdom had treated Turkiye the same way. He believes that his country must get rid of this "Anglo-Saxon dependence" at any reasonable cost and pursue its own independent policy, balancing between the "Atlantic and Asia".

At the same time, the retired admiral admitted that withdrawal from NATO would mean inevitable conflict with Greece. However, an even bigger threat to regional security comes from the reported Western project of turning the Black Sea into a "NATO lake."

Gurdeniz slammed NATO for misleading Turkiye about USSR goals and casting the Kremlin in black tones. The aim of this policy was to turn Turkiye into a Western satellite, he claimed.

He believes that Turkiye should forge a geopolitical alliance with Russia, China and India and develop closer contacts with other BRICS countries.