President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made assessments and answered questions from reporters on his plane return from the US, where NATO’s 75th anniversary ceremonies were held. Highlights from Erdoğan’s statements are as follows:
“The Whole World Knows the Price We Have Paid for Terrorism”
We have completed our visit to Washington on the occasion of the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. We attended the ceremonies for the 75th anniversary of NATO. This summit we held was useful in demonstrating the unity and cohesion of the alliance.
“Russia, Like Ukraine, Is Our Neighbor”
Our balanced stance in the Ukraine-Russia war that we have maintained since the first day is already known by all leaders. Like Ukraine, the Russian Federation is also our neighbor. It is a country with which we have strong ties. We have multidimensional relations with both countries. We also attach importance to preserving these despite the war. We drew attention to the need to return to diplomacy and prepare the ground for negotiations without further bloodshed.
“We expressed our sensitivities and expectations to Rutte”
As you know, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was appointed as the new NATO Secretary General. We had expressed our sensitivities and expectations to Rutte, who visited our country during the candidacy process. I believe he will act in this direction.
“We Say Let’s Reopen the Grain Corridor”
We stated that the restrictions on defense industry trade should be lifted quickly. All allies had made a commitment to this effect at the NATO Vilnius Summit. In the meantime, the majority of our allies took the necessary steps in line with their commitments. However, some NATO members did not change their negative attitudes despite the promises they made.
“Request for a Turkish Secretary General to NATO”
We conveyed our request that Turkey, as one of the most important countries in NATO, be assigned as Deputy Secretary General. It is normal for Turkey to be represented in such a position. We emphasized that Turkey should make very valuable contributions to this request so that the alliance can be united and maintain its effectiveness.
“We Want to Solve the F-16 Problem”
We stated that we believe the F-16 issue will be resolved upon Biden’s promise. We emphasized that our priority is to meet the F-16 demand and stated that our technical staff is ready in this regard.
“We Must Talk About Peace”
We stated that we do not think the risk of World War III is high. We should talk about peace rather than war, and make our plans to ensure peace and make it permanent. We emphasize that all countries should create an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, not tension.
