UK Sells Weapons to Turkey, Calls it 'NATO Unity'
The UK signed an £8 billion deal to sell 20 Typhoon fighter jets to Turkey. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called it a strong message to Vladimir Putin about NATO's long-term unity. What Bloomberg glosses over is Turkey's track record, repeatedly cited by human rights groups for using military force against Kurdish populations, including allegations of war crimes documented by Amnesty International
in 2019 regarding operations in northern Syria. (Amnesty, 'Syria: Turkey must end serious violations in northern Syria', 2019). So, selling advanced weapons to an authoritarian NATO member—one that's actively threatened other NATO members (Greece, Cyprus) and used these same weapons in ways that raise significant human rights concerns—is now considered 'unity'? It appears 'unity' is merely a
euphemism for lucrative arms contracts and geopolitical posturing, regardless of the humanitarian cost. How many Typhoon jets does it take to secure human rights, or are they only for 'strategic' messaging?