Russia Helps NATO Member Turkey Reach Nuclear Status
Turkey announced today that they had finally reached "nuclear status" as they received their first batch of nuclear fuel from Russia. Turkey's partnership with Russia, despite being a member of NATO, is another dramatic example of how the political landscape in the Middle East is rapidly changing, as the region looks to break away from its ties to the United States and U.S. worldwide dominance in energy. Being the only Muslim country in NATO, Turkey also has the largest number of armed forces in NATO outside of the U.S., and they are a strategic country that spans through both Europe and the Middle East. Last year they patched up their differences with Saudi Arabia over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, and last month Saudi Arabia reportedly deposited $5 billion into Turkey's Central Bank to help prop up their economy. As an example of just how dramatically the geopolitical map is rapidly changing today, Turkey's historical archenemy since the end of World War I, Greece, is now inviting Turkey to become part of the recently formed East Mediterranean Gas Forum, which began in November of 2019. Check out the member nations that comprise this recently formed East Mediterranean Gas Forum, to which Greece is extending an invitation to Turkey to join: Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and Palestine. Wait, what?? An organization consisting of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Countries all cooperating together "on developing an infrastructure for gas trade within the region and with external markets"?? And now Greece is inviting their archenemy Turkey to also join??