The deluge after the election!..

On the day Sweden's NATO membership was voted on in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) with the votes of the AKP, MHP, and CHP, we wrote: “We are warning you; after Sweden, the turn will come for concessions on both Cyprus and the Montreux Convention, and thus the encirclement of Turkey will be completed!..”

Before the ink on our lines had even dried, US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Celeste Wallander, pointing to the situation in Ukraine, announced that they were willing to work on conditions that would allow them to move away from the conflict situation in which Turkey—as a kind of guardian of the Montreux Convention—decided to invoke the provisions of the Montreux Convention with countries bordering the Black Sea, including Turkey.

While Russia responded to this audacity at the level of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in Ankara, only Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said, “Any attempt to change the provisions of the Convention is contrary to international law and unacceptable.”

The subject only found a place in the 8th article of the 9-article declaration published after the National Security Council (MGK) meeting the following day.

It was as follows:

While US-NATO-EU countries are now openly preparing for a third world war over Ukraine, the MGK declaration, after pointing to “an urgent ceasefire and the establishment of a lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war,” stated that the Montreux regime would be meticulously preserved “through initiatives in the context of food security as well as practices such as the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group.”

In other words, no one in Ankara openly said/could say to the US, “Who do you think you are, by what right are you asking for this?”!..

THE BLACK SEA MEETING IN ROMANIA

Setting aside what Pentagon Under Secretary Celeste Wallander said; they were likely also unaware that on the day Sweden's NATO membership was voted on in the TBMM, a meeting on the “Black Sea” was held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, under the leadership of the US European Command (USEUCOM), and that US Ambassador to Ankara Jeffrey Flake attended this meeting. If they had known, they would have at least summoned Flake to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked, “What is this about?”, wouldn't they?!

Let us briefly provide information about the meeting in Romania, noting that opening up the Black Sea has been a 150-year dream of the US.

The meeting, attended by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, 8 heads of mission, and high-level military officials, was attended by the ambassadors of Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Russia, as well as the Deputy Head of Mission of Bulgaria. The Foreign and Defense Ministers of the host country, Romania, each gave a presentation. USEUCOM Commander General Christopher Cavoli said they were “focused on advancing the shared regional security of the Black Sea.”

THE BRITISH AND NATO ARE ALSO INVOLVED

The MGK statement emphasized the mines in the Black Sea; let us also remind you of the following:

When it was announced last December that the UK—on which the government relies to persuade Germany, which imposed an embargo on the purchase of Eurofighter jets—would transfer two mine-hunting ships to the Ukrainian Navy to strengthen maritime operations, Ankara announced that it did not allow these ships to pass through the Straits in accordance with Montreux.

Following this, first, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO Admiral James Stavridis accused Turkey of abusing Montreux. Then, Pentagon Under Secretary Celeste Wallander’s statement on Montreux came to the agenda.

Immediately after the allegations of the UK's attempt to breach Montreux, the “Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group memorandum,” mentioned in the MGK declaration, was signed between Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria. Regarding the agreement, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler said, “This initiative will only be open to the ships of the three littoral allied countries,” while Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tîlvar said that “NATO’s coastal partners could also contribute to the agreement together with NATO’s Standing Naval Group and allies not in the coastal region.” Meanwhile, an interesting statement came from the Romanian Deputy Minister of Defense; he claimed, “Bulgaria, Turkey, the US, Romania, and the UK will meet next week. We will sign an agreement for the help of British and American warships to clear the mines in the Black Sea, and for us to clear them together.”

Amidst all this turmoil, another oddity occurred:

Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa stated that they did not request permission for the passage of those ships because they knew it was prohibited under Montreux, noting that the ships mentioned might be mine-hunting ships going from the UK to Romania, while announcing that they were conducting negotiations to ensure security in Ukrainian ports with the participation of NATO ships. Neizhpapa also provided the following remarkable information:

“I was in Romania at the beginning of September. Of course, there was a meeting attended by all Black Sea fleet commanders except Russia, as well as US 6th Fleet experts and commanders, and the NATO Maritime Command commander was also there. We discussed the steps to be taken to ensure mine security in the Black Sea.”

And after all these developments, the UK's former Prime Minister and current Foreign Secretary David Cameron came to Istanbul. He did not just meet with his counterpart Hakan Fidan; he was also received by Erdoğan at the Vahdettin Pavilion.

Guess what; besides Gaza, Sweden's participation in NATO, trade, economy, and strengthening bilateral relations, especially in the defense industry, what other topic was discussed in the Fidan-Cameron meeting? Of course, “the importance of the security of the Black Sea”!..

THE ARCHITECT (!) OF UKRAINE ALSO CAME

Two days after Cameron, the government this time hosted US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland. It was announced that Nuland would come as a guest of Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akçapınar within the scope of the Turkey-US Strategic Mechanism meeting, and that the F-16 process, US-YPG relations, and the US withdrawal from Syria were also on the agenda of the visit. But Nuland also met with both Minister Hakan Fidan and the President's Chief Advisor for Foreign Policy and Security Akif Çağatay Kılıç.

First of all, how and where do we know Nuland from? From her time as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs in 2014, when she stirred up Ukraine like Soros and organized the opposition. In other words, she is one of the chief architects of today's Ukraine. Indeed, when she came to Ankara 39 days after the start of the Ukraine war, she had given us quite a few tasks against Russia!..

Her list included not only Ukraine but also Nagorno-Karabakh, Syria, strengthening Turkey-Israel relations, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and when she went from Ankara to Greece and the Greek Cypriot side, she compared the occupation of Ukraine to Turkey's “occupation” of Cyprus.

A few days after these visits, at the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS meeting she attended in Morocco, she had said that they would exempt foreign companies' investments in regions under the control of the YPG/PKK in Syria from sanctions.

As for Nuland's visit on Sunday-Monday; while no official statement was made regarding what was discussed, diplomatic sources announced that in addition to Turkey-US relations, regional and international issues, the F-16 process in the Congressional stage being resolved without trouble, the YPG/PKK presence in Syria, and the US withdrawal from Syria were discussed.

WHAT DOES TURKEY NEED TO DO IN 2024?

So what did Nuland say? In her statement to CNN Türk, after expressing her satisfaction with Sweden's NATO membership, she said that Secretary of State Blinken asked her to revitalize the remaining part of relations with Turkey, and that they discussed “what needs to be done in 2024” for this purpose. What are those things that need to be done?

She only stated one clearly; the S-400 issue purchased from Russia must be resolved. If this happens, sanctions on Turkey will be lifted and they will talk about F-35s!..

Again, as understood from Nuland's statements; she cited the fight against ISIS as a justification for the YPG/PKK in Syria. In other words, she said they would continue their partnership with the YPG/PKK... And they would not withdraw from Syria...

What about the Black Sea and Montreux, which the US, UK, NATO, and some regional countries are deeply involved in and planning for?.. Could it be that it never came to the agenda?..

THE TIMING OF FİDAN'S MONTREUX STATEMENT

The reason we ask this is as follows: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received Nuland first; because he was going to visit Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Albania, between January 28-31.

It was after so many developments regarding Montreux that Fidan made a statement on this issue for the first time during the Bulgaria and Romania legs of his trip, saying, “As the implementer of the Montreux Convention, maintaining calm in the Black Sea and preventing attempts that would jeopardize this are among our fundamental priorities... We will continue to implement the Montreux Convention to the letter. Let alone discussing this issue, it is out of the question to even think about it,” and “We cannot even imagine Montreux being discussed.”

Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu, the host of the “Black Sea” meeting organized under the leadership of the US European Command (USEUCOM) just a week ago, which we drew attention to at the beginning of the article, made a post regarding her meeting with Fidan, saying, "I underlined the importance of strengthening our cooperation within NATO and the Black Sea region." How NATO and the Black Sea came or will come together?!

Still, let us say “if only” for Hakan Fidan's words... But we have seen what “impossibilities” have happened, and have been made to happen...

Also, we have not forgotten that in past years, Erdoğan said to NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, “Your absence in the Black Sea is turning the Black Sea into almost a lake of Russia... As NATO members, we have to take the steps that need to be taken in all areas together,” and gave the answer, “What has the Montreux Agreement gained or lost for Turkey? Have you ever thought about this?” to those who said that Kanal Istanbul would lead to the breach of Montreux!..

In short; what is the abolition of the Constitution by the hands of the TBMM in the Can Atalay case?!.. There is much more we will see so that the economic bankruptcy at home and the policies of surrender abroad are not talked about... Because it is the deluge after the election!..