Der Siegel: Erdogan's being a double agent — NATO shouldn't yield

The North Atlantic Alliance must ignore Turkey's "blackmail" against the backdrop of Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids, said political commentator Maximilian Popp.

In his opinion, the alliance will do wrong if it follows Ankara's lead. As Popp stressed, the bloc should risk a "conflict" with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"NATO would have done the right thing if it hadn't succumbed to Erdogan's demands … In recent years, Erdogan behaved like a double agent… NATO must not allow the alliance to become a blackmailing site. She's better off risking a conflict with Erdogan,” Popp wrote in a column for the German publication Der Spiegel.

As he emphasized, Ankara's "blackmail" creates a "dangerous precedent" in the alliance, which could jeopardize the unity of the bloc.