Terrorism Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkiye - a bom Nov14, 2022.

The moment of explosion.
Initial report : 15 Nov 2022

Recent terrorist attack on Istiklal street left 6 dead and 81 injured, several of which are in critical condition. President Erdogan called it a terrorist attack on the heart of Turkey. The suspect has already been detained and is allegedly a part of Kurdish terrorist group, some of the members of which are attempting to flee to Syria.

➖The possible consequences of this act of terror are not clear yet. Looking at this, it is worth noting that Kurds are backed by the U.S. and the European Union and this attack will undoubtedly undermine Turkish relations with them and may even impact Turkish stance on NATO expansion and the Ukrainian conflict.

➖As a condition for NATO membership approval, Turkey has demanded Finland and Sweden to extradite several dozens individuals that are, according to Turkey, related to Kurdish terrorist organizations or endorse those organizations. As of beginning of November, Finland and Sweden have not complied with these demands.

➖So, if Kurdish involvement in the terrorist attack is confirmed, it is highly unlikely that Turkey will ever back down with this requirement and unless Scandinavian candidates change their position, NATO expansion will be out of question for a long period of time. Turkish society will simply not allow Erdogan any compromises on this matter.

☝️Moreover, Europe is not the main supporter of Kurdish independence movement. This “honor” goes to the United States of America, which actively supports Kurds in Syria. It is still unclear how will this tragic incident impact the relations between the U.S. and Turkey, Turkish position with regard to Ukrainian conflict and Turkish cooperation with Russia.