NATO Should Not Be Party to Ukraine Conflict: Erdogan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that during his participation in the NATO summit in the United States, he intends to bring up the issues of counterterrorism, Gaza, and Ukraine, especially the fact that the alliance should not become a party to the conflict.
"We expect an outcome from this summit that takes into account our national security interests and strengthens solidarity within the alliance. During our meetings (in Washington), we will draw attention to the growing threat of terrorism in the world and emphasize the need to intensify NATO's efforts here. We maintain a principled position on the conflict in Ukraine," Erdogan told reporters before departing for the United States, according to his administration's X page, TASS reported.
"We support its territorial integrity and consider it unacceptable for NATO to become a party to the war in Ukraine."
He added that "every day that weapons are being used (in Ukraine) confirms the rightness of Turkey's position" on the issue.
Erdogan also said that he intends to "put Israel's ongoing massacre against the Palestinian people on the agenda" at the summit. "We have not been able to achieve what we wanted from NATO regarding Israel and Palestine. The efforts of the international community are not yet enough to stop Israel.
"We will put these issues back on the agenda of our meetings in the US and expect to obtain the results we hope for. Serious talks were held in Doha. The head of Mossad also visited Qatar. Certain steps have been taken, but they have not been finalized yet," the Turkish leader pointed out.
He also recalled that Turkey "is among five NATO countries that make up the backbone of the organization," which other alliance members agree with. He said he will have a meeting with new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte during the summit.
The new NATO summit, timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the organization, will be held in the US capital on July 9-11.