Turkey's Erdogan Seeks to Possess Nuclear Weapons

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to follow in the footsteps of Iran, in acquiring a nuclear weapon.

A recent study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies revealed that Erdogan has increasingly begun to speak out about his country having a nuclear bomb.

According to the Economist magazine, the study pointed out that the Turkish president discussed with his party members in September 2019 that some countries possess nuclear missiles and that Turkey does not possess similar weapons, and said at the time during the meeting: "This, I cannot accept."

However, the aforementioned study quoted Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat who leads the Istanbul-based EDAM Center for Research, as doubting Erdogan's behavior on this rhetoric. 

“At first the public may like the idea of having nuclear weapons,” he says. “But the cost for an open economy like Turkey would be too big and long-term. No government can sustain it under conditions of democratic elections.”

In the meantime, Turkey is facing several crises with its neighbors, especially with the European Union against the background of gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, in addition to other files, such as Libya, Syria, and refugees.

Turkey is also facing an economic crisis, exacerbated by the novel coronavirus pandemic, in addition to the ruling party being subjected to a wave of criticism by the opposition, which accuses it of failing to face the economic challenges that plague the country, and instead distracting with rhetoric, and repressing critics and protesters from other parties.