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Biden offered Erdogan IMF money to ratify Sweden NATO bid – Seymour Hersh

Turkey - Sweden news

Ankara this week rolled back its opposition to Stockholm joining the US-led bloc.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claimed on Thursday that US President Joe Biden offered his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan more than $11 billion in IMF assistance to ratify Sweden’s bid to join the NATO bloc.

In an article posted to his Substack account, Hersh wrote that he had been informed by an anonymous source that “Biden promised that a much-needed $11-13 billion line of credit” would be established for Türkiye by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This was to be in return, Hersh suggested, for Erdogan removing Ankara’s objection to Stockholm joining the US-led military bloc ahead of the NATO summit that took place this week in Lithuania.

Erdogan, who was re-elected as Turkish leader in late May, is currently facing the mammoth task of replacing or repairing hundreds of thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed in February’s earthquakes in which at least 50,000 lost their lives.

Türkiye had previously opposed Sweden’s accession to the bloc, largely due to Ankara’s stance that Stockholm has harbored militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which was involved in an armed conflict with the Turkish state in the 1980s. The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, Sweden, Europe and the United States.

“What could be better for Erdogan,” Hersh wrote of the American and Turkish presidents’ alleged arrangement, quoting an official familiar with it, than him “finally having seen the light and realizing he is better off with NATO and Western Europe?”

The report also referenced a June financial analysis of Ankara’s coffers by the independent think tank Council on Foreign Relations, which cast a dire economic outlook for Erdogan to navigate in the early stages of his latest term as leader.

It said that Türkiye stands on the precipice of an “imminent financial crisis” and if facing a choice “between selling its gold, an avoidable default, or swallowing the bitter pill of a complete policy reversal and possibly an IMF program.”

Hersh, 86, generated headlines earlier this year when he claimed he had been informed –also by an anonymous source– that the United States was responsible for last year’s explosions that neutered the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines that supply energy from Russia to Europe. Washington dismissed the claims as “complete fiction.”

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Source:RT News

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5 COMMENTS

  1. The madman Erdogan is a professional crank. His BS about the Kurd’ PKK is a put-on show, designed to give him an excuse to extort favours and money from the Europeans he hates. Erdogan LOVES the PKK because it’s a broken reed despite his Army persisting shelling many Kurdish towns in Turkey. Erdogan loves the Kurds — especially the Syrian branch [SDF], tools of the USA who pretend to have carved out ‘Rojava’ the fabled Kurdich homeland — a complete joke, but they gave Erdogan the excuse to invade and occupy Syrian lands, ”because Kurdish terrorists PKK were there”. Now Erdog’s extortion is paying off, but will it change the doom impending on Turkey? No. Putin is propping the Sultan up in several ways. One, the ”grain deal” is about to stop, because the Euros rorted it. Erdogan’s cheap Russian oil and gas transhipments can be cut at any time. Do not hold a candle for Turkey. The crazy gangster-dictator has led this nation of friendless chancers into the ditch.

    • well, i would say the old fox erdogan has many tricks up his sleeves is very up to the US manipulations.
      He is a key figure in the middle east and knows it.

  2. Biden should offer 1.4 billion dollars taken from Turkey for the F35’s never-delivered. Biritish media is full of lies and fake news Just like the the whole western media…

    • @ tony.
      Just like the USA, , the UK is going to lose its power and influence on the world events.
      Malevolence and spite are the result in UK mains stream media.
      The UK and US governments should be well inspired to look first at their domestic problems and take care of the abject poverty of a part of its working population. Not to speak of health, obesity and drugs use. Even ( trace of) cocaine found in government buildings
      At least erdogan has the support not only of the turcs living in turkey, but also of most of the turkish diaspora living in europe

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