The United States has reiterated these concerns to a lesser degree, but is also worried that American weapons could be used to propagate the arms race on Cyprus where NATO members Greece and Turkey are locked in their own version of the cold war. As a result, Turkey has spent the past several years trying to diversify its weapon suppliers. Already, Turkey has developed close military cooperation with Israel. Ankara's political priorities have taken a similar path. Despite repeated attempts by the Turkish Army to keep the country Euro-centric, over the past few years the priorities in Turkey's foreign policy have drifted from Europe to its more immediate neighbors to the east.
Turkey is in the midst of a serious crisis of national identity.
The military, the real power in Turkey, steadfastly supports the idea that the country must remain a secular state in order to become a full member of Europe. The country's most popular political party has a different vision. Given this tension, the future of Turkey as a viable NATO member is open to question. Diversifying its weapon suppliers may be a signal that even a secular Turkey no longer will tie itself completely to the west.