While the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, there has been an important development that could facilitate a positive agenda in Turkey-Europe relations. In the statements made by the Turkish, French and Italian leaders after the extraordinary NATO summit held last week, it was announced that Turkey’s involvement in the SAMP/T air defense system project will be accelerated. In fact, the three countries agreed on this cooperation in 2017 but due to the political problems experienced afterward, triple-sided cooperation could not be realized. However, as a result of the normalized Turkey-Europe relations, the discussion about Turkey’s involvement in this Franco-Italian partnership has come to the fore again.
First of all, it should be noted that SAMP/T, also known as the “Missile of Europe,” is technically a medium and long-range ballistic air defense system. Produced by the Eurosam consortium of European missile maker MBDA, itself a joint venture between Airbus, Italy’s Leonardo, Britain’s BAE Systems, French defense contractor Thales, whose main shareholders are the French state, and fighter jet maker Dassault Aviation, this integrated defense system can even defeat ballistic missiles. The system, which is currently in the inventory of a limited number of countries, has so far been deployed to a number of countries for operational missions.
As for Turkey's involvement in the SAMP/T project, it should be noted that a memorandum of understanding was signed between France, Italy and Turkey in 2017, just before the political tension between Turkey and the West started. With the said agreement, the three countries declared goodwill to jointly produce SAMP/T as compatible with NATO systems. Later, as a result of technical negotiations between the parties, at the beginning of 2018, it was decided that Eurosam would work together with Turkey’s Aselsan and Roketsan.
This positive development was welcomed by all parties as it could both improve Turkey’s know-how capacity and strengthen defense-oriented ties between Turkey and Europe. However, this positive momentum did not continue. The most important reason for this is related to the political problems between Turkey and the parties in 2017 and after. Unable to obtain the Patriot air defense system despite insistent requests, Turkey's search to protect its national security led it to procure the S-400 air defense system from Russia. However, Turkey’s relations became strained after the U.S. and Europe opposed this development due to their geopolitical concerns. As a result, Turkey was excluded from many international defense industry projects such as the F-35 fighter jet and the SAMP/T air defense system.
In addition to these, the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean region between Turkey, France and Italy was among the factors that hindered the progress of the SAMP/T project. Turkey stopped the ship sent by Italy-based energy company ENI to the region in 2018. Since the ship had been sent with unilateral permission from the Greek Cypriot administration, tension rose for Ankara with Italy and the European Union. Similarly, the signing of an agreement between France and the Greek Cypriot administration to develop cooperation in the military field in 2017 and the subsequent allocation of a military base to France on Greek Cypriot territory further increased the tension in Turkish-French relations. When Turkey’s and France’s confrontations in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh were added to this development, the attempt to produce the SAMP/T air defense system together failed.
While SAMP/T did not have a serious place on the agenda until recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brought this issue back to the spotlight by making a statement that Turkey would take positive steps regarding the project after the G-20 summit held in Rome in November last year. Subsequently, when Russia’s intervention in Ukraine began, reviving the tripartite cooperation between Turkish and European stakeholders came to the fore again. Recently, after Erdoğan’s meetings with his French and Italian counterparts at the NATO summit last week, it was decided to take concrete steps regarding tripartite cooperation. Moreover, Erdoğan discussed the possibility of buying SAMP/T missile defense systems.
At this point, it should be noted that Turkey is one of the rare countries able to maintain dialogue with both Moscow and Kyiv, allowing it to mediate between the parties. This situation has placed Turkey in a crucial position for Europe once again. It also pioneered the softening period between Turkey and the major European countries and brought up the issue of tripartite cooperation in the production of SAMP/T.
At a time when Turkey-Europe relations are normalizing, Turkey’s inclusion in the SAMP/T project can play an important role in reviving political relations between the parties. On one hand, Turkey is keen to have a defense system that it produces with its own means or that it is a partner in. On the other hand, France and Italy have signaled an interest in cooperation with Turkey in the defense industry. Therefore, apart from ideological prejudices, there is no obstacle to the realization of this tripartite cooperation.
Moreover, since Turkey has propelled its defense industry to rank among the strategic players and has become an influential actor in several fields, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, the possible cooperation may spread to different areas in the long run. Therefore, this cooperation is a good opportunity for faster normalization and even deepening of political relations between Turkey and Europe.
The stance France and Italy take regarding triple cooperation will also be a concrete indication of how Europe plans to maintain its relations with Turkey. European countries – which criticize Ankara for moving away from the West due to the Russian-made S-400 issue but do not offer an alternative – could prove their intentions by making room for Turkey in the SAMP/T project and establishing a rational relationship that goes beyond ideological discussions. Otherwise, Turkey, like every country, will continue with its foreign policy strategy to ensure its national security to cope with possible security threats.
