Erdogan: Turkey Does Not Intend to Indulge All Western Demands
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkey does not plan to fulfill all the demands made by the West, particularly in what concerns imposing sanctions against Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Erdogan received 49.24% of the votes in the first round of the presidential election held earlier this month, while his main competitor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, got 45.07%, according to data from the Supreme Election Council. Kilicdaroglu has accused Russia of alleged meddling in the elections in Turkey.
"The opposition says it will rebuild Turkey's relations with other countries. On the one hand, you attack the Russian Federation, on the other, you say that you will build relations anew," Erdogan said on Friday, Sputnik reported.
The Turkish president pointed out that Ankara currently maintains relations with all Western countries, including the US, as well as Russia and China.
"As for the sanctions against Turkey's largest trading partner, Russia, they (the opposition) said that they would do everything demanded by the West. Bye-bye Kemal, Turkey will do what we want, not what the West demands. This will never happen in our politics," Erdogan said.
Turkey held parliamentary and presidential elections on May 14. After counting 100% of the ballots, the Turkish Supreme Election Council announced on Monday that the second round of the presidential vote would take place on May 28, as none of the candidates had reached the 50% threshold.
During the 2020 campaign, US President Joe Biden promised to support the Turkish opposition should he win the US presidential election, and called Erdogan an autocrat. In response, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin accused Biden of ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy.
