The ghost of the 1936 Montreux Convention now haunts NATO. When Turkey signed that historic pact, Ankara committed to safeguard the Black Sea while checking Moscow’s maritime ambitions. Today, aspiring Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses that exact geographic leverage to dismantle the entire Western alliance from within. Turkey’s latest maneuver — expanding its nuclear energy partnership with Russia’s state-owned Rosatom — extends far beyond a mere utility project.
This dangerous deal forms the final brick in a calculated energy bridge that locks Ankara into Moscow’s orbit for the next half-century. Consequently, Washington must stop treating Turkey as an ally and start viewing Ankara as a hostile Trojan horse.
Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.
Already a member? Log in
Cold, hard data undergirds this geopolitical capitulation. Russia already has full control of Turkey’s flagship Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Once all four reactors go online, this single Russian-owned nuclear facility will generate 4,800 megawatts of electricity, dictating a full 10% of Turkey’s total domestic power supply. Now, Erdogan wants to expand this subservience by handing Russian President Vladimir Putin lucrative contracts for additional plants in Sinop and Thrace. Turkey simultaneously relies on Russia for 40% of its natural gas imports, creating a terrifying strategic reality. Ankara has willingly surrendered the keys to its critical infrastructure to a bloody dictatorship currently waging an aggressive war on Europe’s doorstep. Consequently, the State Department needs to stop pretending that this represents normal commerce or benign infrastructure development.
