Madrid, 1 July 2022 (TDI): Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke to reporters following the NATO Summit in Madrid.
“It has become clear once again that Türkiye will have a say in NATO’s future” https://t.co/ihsiHREJFG pic.twitter.com/0s2vtp9x9B
— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) June 30, 2022
President Erdogan noted that NATO has successfully completed one of the most important summits in its history. On this occasion, he said the Summit helped the Allies to reaffirm their spirit of unity and solidarity.
The Turkish President thanked NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, and his team for the efforts they exerted toward the success of the summit.
He further said, “The Madrid Summit has served as an important opportunity to analyze the current point we have reached.”
Ukraine-Russia Crisis
About the Ukraine-Russia crisis, he shared “Our Alliance has full support for Ukraine”. “We need to intensify our diplomatic efforts for the establishment of lasting peace.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also spoke about coordinating with Ukrainian leadership on the current crisis.
He said, “President of Ukraine addressed us via video link during the summit yesterday.” “I have been in close contact with him (Ukrainian President) since the beginning of the process”.
Sweden-Finland’s NATO membership
About the issue of Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership, the Turkish President said that his administration had laid red lines on this issue.
He stated, “We have since the very beginning voiced our sensitivities and displayed a constructive but determined stance.”
The President also shed light on his quadrilateral meeting held between Finnish and Swedish leadership facilitated by NATO Secretary-General.
This meeting was held on the sidelines of the NATO Summit on the issue of Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO.
About Turkiye’s change in the stance on NATO membership, he stated that “Undoubtedly, this memorandum of understanding is a diplomatic victory for Turkiye and our nation which was achieved as a result of the tough negotiation process.”
He was referring to Turkiye’s support for Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership. Turkish President also recognized the fact that Turkiye is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its accession to the NATO alliance.
He also said that Turkiye has always acted in the spirit of the Alliance and that his country played an effective role within NATO.
Turkish President gave a briefing on the bilateral talks with participating heads of state on the sidelines of the Summit. He expressed, “We mainly discussed the developments in Ukraine and exchanged views on issues related to Alliance’s agenda”.
