Türkiye trusts Russia as much as it trusts West: Erdoğan

NEW YORK

Türkiye trusts Russia as much as it trusts the West, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, stressing that the Turkish government is following its policies toward Russia and the United States on the win-win principle.

“To the extent the West is reliable, Russia is equally reliable. For the last 50 years, we have been waiting at the doorstep of the EU, and, at this moment in time, I trust Russia just as much as I trust the West,” Erdoğan told PBS in an interview in New York as he attends the U.N. General Assembly meetings.

Erdoğan was responding to a question on Türkiye’s ties with Russia and the West in the context of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Underlining Ankara’s special ties with Moscow, Erdoğan recalled, “Half of my natural gas supplies are coming from Russia, which means we have solidarity. We are taking mutual steps forward, and we are cooperating in the field of defense industry as well. We can do these things with Russia.”

Emphasizing that he is seeking to establish contacts with nations around the world based on a win-win scenario, Erdoğan stressed, “Just as I have good relations with the U.S., similarly, I will have good relations with Russia. I will continue to have a relationship with the EU member states based on the same approach as well, win-win.”

On a question about Türkiye’s different policies when it comes to global matters, especially in the context of the war, Erdoğan stated that all countries, including the EU, have their own different policies.

“Russia happens to be one of my closest neighbors. And we have a common history. And, similarly, this is how the current process is continuing. We have launched the grain corridor. Altogether, 33 million tons of grain were exported to the rest of the world using the Black Sea. And we didn't do this just because the EU asked us to do so. It was a humanitarian obligation that we assumed,” he said.

On a question about the duration of the war in Ukraine, Erdoğan expressed his forecast that it would last a long time.

Sweden must take steps

Erdoğan also answered the question about Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Türkiye has promised to ratify the Swedish accession in the parliament should the Nordic state fulfill the necessary requirements.

“For that to be happening, of course, Sweden should keep its promises. Terrorist organizations should immediately stop their demonstrations on the streets of Stockholm, and they should stop their activities because seeing this actually happening is going to be very important for the Turkish people,” Erdoğan said.

“Sweden seemingly carried out legislative amendments, but it's not enough,” the president added. On a question, Erdoğan rejected the efforts of some American congressmen in linking the Turkish demand of purchasing 40 new F-16 fighter jets from the U.S. to the Turkish parliament’s vote for Sweden.

“I believe these two topics shouldn't be related because while, primarily, President [Joe] Biden said that this issue was tied to the Congress, we would always say, ‘OK, we have the Turkish Parliament,’” he stated.

Erdoğan meets Stoltenberg

Erdoğan continued his bilateral meetings in New York on Sept. 18. He met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and discussed security matters as well as Sweden’s application to the alliance.

He also met Algerian President Abdulmecid Tebbun and Polish President Andrzej Duda. He held a roundtable discussion with some of the U.S.-based think tanks in New York as well. There he provided a detailed approach to Türkiye’s foreign policy agenda and economic policies.