Is Turkey withdrawing from NATO?

Last week, the news fell like a bombshell. Defense Minister ?smet Y?lmaz declared at the Turkish parliament that Turkey?s new defense missile system, to be purchased most probably from China, would not be integrated with NATO?s system. This kicked off a hot discussion on whether Turkey is changing its strategic affiliation and might ultimately withdraw from NATO.

The long-range missiles have been on top of Turkey?s agenda for a long while. In September 2013, Ankara declared that it had awarded its missile defense system tender to a Chinese firm - after which NATO, and the U.S. in particular, raised concerns and gave a sharp reaction. This was not only because this Chinese firm is included in the U.S.?s sanction list, but also because the Chinese missiles could not be integrated with NATO?s defense system.

It has been widely argued that Turkey has been using this as a bargaining chip with other companies at the table.

On top of this, the defense minister?s declaration last week heated up the discussion. Is Turkey breaking up its alliance with NATO? Ironically, this questioning coincided with the 63rd anniversary of Turkey?s NATO membership.

In order to find the lay of the land, I had the chance to talk with some officials in Ankara last week. First of all, it should be said that the tender has not been finalized yet. However, the most surprising part is there has been a shift away from China towards France-Italy.

In the original tender there had been four proposals: The Chinese company (China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corporation / CPMIEC); Russian firm Rosoboronexport,; Eurosam, which is co-owned by France and Italy; and the U.S.?s Raytheon, which produces the Patriot missiles.

Turkey had also outlined...