This weekend Sweden’s Prime Minister said Turkey is asking for too much over its NATO application, adding that Sweden has lived up to its commitments and that the decision now “lies with Turkey.” Ankara has effectively demanded the impossible, notably that Stockholm override a decision by its own Supreme Court and extradite a journalist wanted by the Erdogan regime. Analysts say Turkish President Erdogan is likely to drag this process out, at least until the all-important presidential elections scheduled in June. Expert Sinan Ciddi joins Thanos Davelis to discuss what this means for Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid, and look at why it should serve as a lesson to both Europe and the US that appeasement doesn’t work with Turkey’s Erdogan.

Sinan Ciddi is a non-resident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he contributes to FDD’s Turkey Program and Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). He is also an Associate Professor of Security Studies at the Command and Staff College-Marine Corps University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Read Sinan Ciddi’s latest piece: ‘Enough Is Enough’: What Blinken Should Tell Turkey’s Cavusoglu

You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:

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