Can Türkiye send troops to Ukraine? Expert outlines conditions
Photo: Türkiye may send troops to Ukraine under certain conditions (Getty Images)
Türkiye is ready to join the European contingent that will be sent to Ukraine, but under a number of conditions. The main ones are informal support from the United States and tacit approval from Russia, states Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the Center on the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution and director of the Turkey Project, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
"If Russia continues, if Russia says we will hit this force the moment it arrives, I think it becomes very difficult. And it's still sustainable if the US says it is going to provide a stopgap measure. But at the end of the day, realistically, this force will only happen if there is a sort of tacit promise of support from the United States and a tacit approval from Russia. I say tacit because we know that Russians will never come out and approve it publicly, but it is important for Europeans to have an understanding that there will be some type of a stopgap support from the United States," said Aydintasbas.
According to her, Ankara has significant experience in missions—from Korea to Afghanistan, primarily within NATO—but tries to avoid risk during missions.
"Türkiye has the capability and the human resources to commit several thousand troops to Ukraine along the border, along the borderline of conflict with Russia. But again, it is going to do so once there is a US commitment to some type of protection. It doesn't have to be public - some type of a US commitment to support this force," the expert added.
Military Contingent for Ukraine
At least six countries (the United Kingdom, France, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and one more country that has not yet disclosed its participation) within the Coalition of the Willing have expressed readiness to send a military contingent to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
In early May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined two possible options for the deployment of a military contingent on Ukrainian territory.
Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the Coalition of the Willing is working daily with partners on a proposal regarding the sending of a military contingent to Ukraine.
Today, it became known that the United States is in discussions with several countries about deploying their peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine.
At the same time, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposed extending NATO’s Article 5 to Ukraine even without its membership in the Alliance. According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, this idea could be considered after the full-scale war ends.
