Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inadvertently illustrated how useless the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is and how toothless Western sanctions against Russia are, when all is said and done.
The leader of NATO member Turkey — which has good relations with both Russia and Ukraine — said that while he condemns Russian aggression, he will not impose sanctions because doing so would harm his nation’s energy industry and hurt the Turkish people.
“We are buying nearly half of the natural gas we use from Russia,” Erdogan told reporters Friday while flying back home from a NATO summit in Brussels, according to Reuters. “Separately, we are making our Akkuyy Nuclear Power Plant with Russia. We cannot set these aside.”
He added, “So there is nothing that can be done here. We must maintain our sensitivity on this issue. Firstly, I can’t leave my people in the cold of the winter. Secondly, I cannot halt our industry. We must defend these.”
Essentially, Erdogan said he must put Turkey first and prioritize the needs of his people before lashing out at Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
This pragmatic approach contrasts sharply with the self-destructive, virtue-signaling reactions of President Joe Biden, whose sanctions on Russia are hurting Americans struggling with raging inflation, daily border invasions, a crippling supply-chain crisis and rocketing gas prices.
Today’s gas prices in San Diego California
Let’s go @GavinNewsom ? pic.twitter.com/VnodewJTSR
— Politically Stripped ™️ ???? (@politstrip) March 26, 2022
Turkey, which shares a maritime border in the Black Sea with both Russia and Ukraine, previously offered to mediate peace talks between the feuding neighbors, according to Reuters.
Erdogan said he planned to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin separately in the coming days to urge an end to their war.
The Turkish president’s admission that he cannot punish Russia if it also means indirectly punishing his own citizenry underscores the difference between a leader who cares about his own country’s welfare and a globalist puppet who’s mainly concerned with hollow political theater.
Erdogan realizes that Turkey cannot alienate Russia in order to virtue-signal if it means Turkish citizens would freeze to death because their supply of Russian natural gas was abruptly halted.
By the same token, Biden should realize that the sanctions he put on Russia are having a devastating impact on Americans, especially after he destroyed U.S. energy independence that occurred under former President Donald Trump.
Russia is primed to benefit financially from the global energy crisis, which is being exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Not only can Russia profit immensely from soaring oil prices, but it also can project power against other countries with the implied threat that their gas supply will be shut off.
The war in Ukraine spotlights once again why the United States must become energy-independent and focus on ramping up domestic oil production.
Gas prices are consequence of (1) failure of US to produce more oil (2) sanctions on Russia (3) inflationary pressures impacting all businesses including energy companies, gas stations (4) high gas taxes. Sanctions are bipartisan. Others: Dem policies https://t.co/NedRZum7JP
— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) March 28, 2022
It’s now abundantly clear that 1)the rest of the world isn’t going to sanction Russia and 2)sanctions from NATO won’t slow Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Sanctions will only hurt American workers and families with increased food and gas prices. Textbook America Last virtue signaling.
— The Columbia Bugle ?? (@ColumbiaBugle) March 27, 2022
As Biden commits more inexcusable blunders that threaten to ignite World War III, the United States is being further destabilized by his toxic policies and reckless sanctions.
In addition to legitimate fears of an impending recession, the U.S. could soon face devastating food shortages because Russian wheat is now banned under Biden’s sanctions.
Food shortages? In America? And Europe? Because of sanctions against Russia?
WTF?
I thought the sanctions were supposed to hurt THEM—not hurt US!!
WTF!!!
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.“ pic.twitter.com/3aucnTAz9i
— Gonzalo Lira (@realGonzaloLira) March 25, 2022
“The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia, it’s imposed upon an awful lot of countries as well, including European countries and our country as well,” Biden said last week.
Who would have ever imagined that a “food shortage” could occur in the second-richest nation in the world in the 21st century?
This, sadly, is Biden’s America.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.