Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dropped his objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO in exchange for compromise in his war against the Kurds. Sweden’s support for Kurds’ rights has long been a point of conflict in relations with Turkey. Sweden has been a harsh critic of Turkish human rights abuses. That might change. Since all 30 NATO countries must approve new members, Erdoğan had a lot of leverage. While Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has revived NATO, Erdoğan has turned the war in Ukraine to his own advantage. Turkey has general elections scheduled next year and Erdoğan’s AK Party is sliding in the polls. His deal with NATO might win him support at home. All politics is local. Putin’s war is Erdoğan’s opportunity. The Kurds have now paid the price for NATO’s expansion. The Kurds are Turkey’s largest ethnic minority – estimated to total 20 per cent of the population of Turkey. Kurdish movements have long demanded a separate Kurdish state and self-determination for the Kurds. Millions of Kurds are scattered across the Middle East, notably Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. In 1988, they were the victims of a nerve gas attack by the Saddam Hussein regime. Recently,...