Comments by "buddermonger2000" (@buddermonger2000) on "Turkey's Rapidly Expanding Military Power" video.

  1. Turkiye is funny because their foreign policy is rather segmented as they ask "Why can't we cooperate with Russia?" while at the same time having a jet engine program with Ukraine prior to the outbreak of war, and telling the Russians in no uncertain terms "Give Ukraine all of its territory back" as it continues to make ships for Ukraine and send it other aid as well. I think the only supporters of Ukraine more vocal than Turkiye are Poland and the Baltic.
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  2. @fatgrubman645  They may be deepening trade ties, but it's because Russia is running out of trade partners. Turkiye isn't a wealthy country and in the middle of an economic crisis, so they're not in the position to really refuse. They're basically extorting Russia in as they're in a position of weakness. Ultimately, as I said, their foreign policy is very segmented. This means that everything is on a case by case basis, not holistic. Russia has money they need to hide? They're quite happy to accept it. However, remember that Turkiye is the one that refuses to let Russia put more ships into the black sea, that they're building ships for Ukraine, that they negotiated the grain deal (a benefit for Ukraine), and that they've themselves given and sold weapons to the country, as well as having the position I said earlier of saying that even Crimea is Ukrainian. Realistically, it seems the reason Turkiye doesn't do more is that it needs to preserve diplomatic firepower to get concessions out of Russia. Which even then, serves to keep Russia from making bolder moves as they do still have things to lose. Personally, I've heard nothing of sanctions busting efforts by Turkiye, so I can't speak on that.
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