https://sputnikglobe.com/20230529/turkiye-unbowed-despite-incredible-pressure-from-west-over-ties-with-russia-erdogan-spox-says-1110780569.html
Turkiye Unbowed Despite ‘Incredible Pressure’ From West Over Ties With Russia, Erdogan Spox Says
Turkiye Unbowed Despite ‘Incredible Pressure’ From West Over Ties With Russia, Erdogan Spox Says
Sputnik International
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term in office on Sunday. Under his watch, Ankara has pursued arguably its most independent foreign policy since Turkiye’s entry into the NATO alliance in 1952. Erdogan doubled down on efforts to escape Washington’s grip after the US tried to coup him in 2016.
2023-05-29T18:43+0000
2023-05-29T18:43+0000
2023-05-29T18:43+0000
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recep tayyip erdogan
ibrahim kalin
joe biden
turkiye
ankara
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fethullah gulen
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Turkiye’s refusal to bend to demands by the West to severe ties with Russia has led to “incredible pressure” being placed on Ankara, Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has said.Highlighting Turkiye’s transformation into an “independent, self-sufficient” power on the world stage, Kalin stressed that Ankara will continue to “try to develop our relations of mutual interest with everyone.”“The United States is one of the important actors with whom we have relations. We are looking at our relations with Russia, China and the EU in this perspective. When I went to the US, I met with all of their senators. Senators who have used F-16s as political leverage. Of course, we would like the purchase of F-16s to progress. But if it doesn’t, it is not the end of the world for Turkiye. But we will not allow them to take us prisoner. We are developing alternatives,” Kalin said.The Biden administration expressed interest in “moving forward” on the sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkiye last week. However, lawmakers in Congress has held up arms deal, attempting to tie their approval to Ankara ratifying Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Turkish officials have said that they will not do so until their security concerns are met.The talks between Ankara and Washington on F-16s comes after Turkiye’s unceremonious ouster from the F-35 program in 2019 over its purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system.Turkiye and Hungary became the only two NATO member countries refusing to sever economic, political and trade ties with Moscow after the escalation of the conflict in the Donbass into a full-fledged proxy war between Russia and the West. Ankara helped facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kiev in the spring of 2022, and to negotiate an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative. President Erdogan refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow, and Turkiye has served as an important route for the transit of goods and people into and out of Russia over the past year.Russia surpassed China as Turkiye's largest trade partner last year, with trade jumping from $34.73 billion in 2021 to $58.85 billion in 2022. Moscow and Ankara are negotiating a major agreement to turn Turkiye into a major hub for natural gas deliveries to Europe.
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recep tayyip erdogan, turkiye, russia, ankara, moscow, relations ties
recep tayyip erdogan, turkiye, russia, ankara, moscow, relations ties
Turkiye Unbowed Despite ‘Incredible Pressure’ From West Over Ties With Russia, Erdogan Spox Says
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured a third term in office on Sunday. Under his watch, Ankara has pursued arguably its most independent foreign policy since Turkiye’s entry into the NATO alliance in 1952. Erdogan doubled down on efforts to escape Washington’s grip after the US tried to coup him in 2016.
Turkiye’s refusal to bend to demands by the West to severe ties with Russia has led to “incredible pressure” being placed on Ankara, Erdogan spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has said.
“Have other countries not put pressure on us? Of course they have…For a year-and-half, Western countries are putting incredible pressure on us, demanding that we slap sanctions [on Russia], asking why we cooperate with Russia, etc. But we didn’t listen to anyone, and
held a ceremony on the delivery of the first fuel to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant,” Kalin
said in an interview with local media.
Highlighting Turkiye’s transformation into an “independent, self-sufficient” power on the world stage, Kalin stressed that Ankara will continue to “try to develop our relations of mutual interest with everyone.”
“We have had two main problems [with the US, ed.] since the Obama era – the [US] support given to the YPG/PYD,and the FETO issue,” the presidential spokesman said, referring to Washington’s support for Kurdish militants which Ankara classifies as “terrorists,” and America’s refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric whom Turkish officials blame for the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan.
“The United States is one of the important actors with whom we have relations. We are looking at our relations with Russia, China and the EU in this perspective. When I went to the US, I met with all of their senators. Senators who have used F-16s as political leverage. Of course, we would like the purchase of F-16s to progress. But if it doesn’t, it is not the end of the world for Turkiye. But we will not allow them to take us prisoner. We are developing alternatives,” Kalin said.
The Biden administration expressed interest in
“moving forward” on the sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkiye last week. However, lawmakers in Congress has held up arms deal, attempting to tie their approval to Ankara ratifying Sweden’s bid to join NATO. Turkish officials have said that they will not do so until their security concerns are met.
The talks between Ankara and Washington on F-16s comes after Turkiye’s unceremonious ouster from the F-35 program in 2019 over its purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system.
Turkiye and Hungary became the only two NATO member countries refusing to sever economic, political and trade ties with Moscow after the escalation of the conflict in the Donbass into a full-fledged proxy war between Russia and the West. Ankara helped facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kiev in the spring of 2022, and to negotiate an agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative. President Erdogan refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow, and Turkiye has served as an important route for the transit of goods and people into and out of Russia over the past year.
Russia surpassed China as Turkiye's largest trade partner last year, with trade
jumping from $34.73 billion in 2021 to $58.85 billion in 2022. Moscow and Ankara are
negotiating a major agreement to turn Turkiye into a major hub for natural gas deliveries to Europe.
