Türkiye balances its international affairs amid a war in Ukraine that escalated anti-Russian rhetoric in the West. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who spearheads efforts for peace and a grain deal, maintains good ties with both Russia and Ukraine while striving to improve Ankara's occasionally deteriorating ties with the West. Erdoğan, who was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly this week, sat down with U.S. broadcaster PBS in New York for an interview and spoke about Türkiye's ties in light of recent developments.
Explaining his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdoğan said he could not get him to resume the Black Sea grain deal the Kremlin withdrew from in July but had elicited a pledge for Russia to supply 1 million tons of grain to Africa. "I have no reason not to trust them,” Erdoğan said. 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.”
Asked if he sees more of a benefit to Türkiye's relationship with Russia or with the U.S., President Erdoğan stressed that this question cannot be asked to a political leader. "Because the way I engage in politics, to the extent possible, is all about establishing contacts with the nations around the world based on a win-win scenario. Just as I have good relations with the U.S., similarly, I will have good relations with Russia. And we will continue to have a relationship with the EU member states based on the same approach as well, win-win," he said.
Ankara has maintained close ties with both Russia and Ukraine during the 19-month war. In July last year, Türkiye and the U.N. engineered a deal to allow Ukrainian grain to be safely shipped from its Black Sea ports, helping alleviate a global food crisis. Moscow pulled out of the agreement two months ago, claiming a parallel deal to allow its exports of foodstuffs and fertilizer had not been honored.
Erdoğan stated that only the Russian and Ukrainian presidents can determine when the war in Ukraine will come to an end. "It's impossible for me to give you a calendar about when this war will end or how long it will go," he said. "Only the leaders of both parties will be able to tell you." Asked about his discussions with Putin regarding the war's progress, Erdoğan noted that the conflict is expected to continue for "a long time."
"And for the war to end as soon as possible, we would like to be very hopeful. And Mr. Putin is actually on the side of ending this war as soon as possible," he said.
When asked about recent remarks he made on parting ways with the European Union if necessary, the president said that Türkiye attaches great importance to decisions made by the EU and will welcome any positive step forward. "Türkiye has been lingering at the doorstep of the EU for the last five decades. And we were always self-sufficient. We never relied on contributions or support we received from the EU, so it's not even necessary for us," he added.
Speaking at an event organized by think tanks on Monday in New York, Erdoğan underlined that there was a window of opportunity for the revitalization of relations with the EU in a critical period.
Just as he was about to depart for the United States, Erdoğan, at a news conference, expressed his disappointment over a report assessing Türkiye’s bid, criticized by the country for being biased and filled with false accusations. Under the leadership of Erdoğan, Türkiye took significant steps to fulfill the criteria for membership of the 27-member bloc, while Ankara heightened bilateral relations with EU states. Yet, continuing tolerance of the EU for terrorist groups threatening Türkiye led to a deterioration of ties. Differing views on other issues further eroded trust between the two sides although Türkiye and the EU remained major trade partners.
Erdoğan also indicated improving ties with Washington. “We are pleased with the development of our cooperation with the U.S.,” he said at a New York event. “We have resolved most of the deadlocks during the talks with Mr. Biden and we have decided to hold more talks in line with the positive agenda.”
"We will strengthen our cooperation on terrorism, which poses a threat to both countries," he said. Both countries would hold further talks to discuss relations, he added.
In reference to U.S. support for the PKK terrorist group's wing in northern Syria, the YPG, Erdoğan stressed that there can be no partnership with terror groups. "Every development in our region demonstrates how wrong the distinction between good terrorists and bad terrorists is. There is no negotiation with terrorists and no friendship or partnership can be established with them," he said.
The most outstanding issue between the two countries nowadays appears to be blatant U.S. support for terrorist groups threatening Türkiye, including the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ), whose leader resides in Pennsylvania, and the PKK/YPG, which is supported by Washington under the pretext of a fight against Daesh. Erdoğan, who last met U.S. President Joe Biden earlier this month in New Delhi, where they both attended a G-20 summit, said they agreed upon strengthening Turkish-U.S. friendship and cooperation.
At the same event, the president also said the future of Türkiye-EU ties depends on the stance of the bloc, noting that Ankara's desire to become an EU member-state is not enough. "The stance of the European Union will be a determining factor in reaching our goal," he said. In his remarks, Erdoğan also mentioned Türkiye's contributions to solving global and regional problems, promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the region, and addressing injustices within the international system.
In the PBS interview, Erdoğan reiterated that Sweden's NATO bid and Türkiye's current position within the EU accession negotiations are two separate issues. "We have repeatedly stated that we were ready to support Sweden to join NATO. But Sweden is supposed to rise up to the occasion and keep their promises because on the streets of Stockholm, we still see terrorists wandering around freely," he said.
The Turkish leader was referring to supporters of the PKK and FETÖ in the country. He has repeatedly urged Stockholm to take measures against these supporters who, he said, were roaming freely.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership shortly after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022. Although Türkiye approved Finland's NATO membership, it is waiting for Sweden to fulfill its commitments not to provide shelter to terrorists or supporters of terrorists and not to facilitate their actions. The president said that Sweden's bid to join NATO is being assessed by the Turkish Parliament and it is the place where, he said, the accession would be eventually ratified. "This is part of the agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The Assembly will see the situation within the framework of its own calendar. This proposal will come to a vote by the lawmakers," he said. The president also commented on U.S. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who is known for his opposition to the U.S. sale of F-16s to Türkiye and his accusations against Ankara for allegedly threatening Greece's security. "Bob Menendez is not very familiar with Türkiye. And Menendez doesn't seem to be familiar with Tayyip Erdoğan either," said the president. "We have been friends with (Greece) for many decades. It seems like Menendez has taken a hostile approach to Türkiye and he's trying to pull us towards certain discussions of his choosing. But we are not going to be part of this. Our friendship with Greece is not what they make it out to be," he added.
However, he reiterated that Sweden should keep its promises. "Terrorist groups should immediately stop their demonstrations on the streets of Stockholm and they should stop their activities. Because seeing this actually happen is going to be very important for the Turkish people. Sweden seemingly carried out legislative amendments, but it's not enough," the president added.
President Erdoğan also said he believed the U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye and Sweden's NATO bid should not be related. "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 said. "If the Parliament doesn't make a positive decision about this bid, then there's nothing to do," he added.
The president was also asked why he did not join the EU members for sanctioning Russia over its war in Ukraine. "Are we supposed to do what the EU members are doing?" he said. Saying that Türkiye has a different position in the world and the EU member states have their positions, the president described Russia as one of the closest neighbors of Türkiye and said that both nations have a common history.
"And similarly, this is how the current process is continuing. We have launched the (Ukraine) grain corridor. Altogether, 33 million tons of grain are 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.
