NATO must be delicate to Türkiye’s issues concerning the battle in opposition to terrorism, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan mentioned Monday.
“What is important for us is, firstly, that the Alliance develops sensitivity in the fight against terrorism in a way that will understand and include Türkiye’s concerns,” Fidan instructed the Haberturk news channel.
His remarks got here forward of a NATO summit in Washington, D.C. on July September 11.
Stressing that NATO member nations mustn’t impose restrictions on one another’s protection trade merchandise, Fidan mentioned: “Our expectations on this issue continue like this. There are still some problem areas. They need to be resolved.”
Regarding the “trust problem” between Türkiye and NATO allies over the PKK/YPG terrorist group, he mentioned: “The countries we have problems with regarding the YPG are America, England and a little bit with France…In order to maintain its (YPG) presence there, it is present in all operations where America is involved…We express this problem at every level.”
Underlining that that is in opposition to the spirit of the Alliance, Fidan mentioned that Türkiye is constant the best stage of diplomacy attainable and that “it can no longer live with such a reality.”
“We carry more sensitivity in our fight against the PKK than you (the US and the UK) do in your fight against terrorism, just on the other side of our border. It is out of the question for us to engage in any negotiations here,” he mentioned, including Türkiye will resolutely proceed its battle in opposition to terrorism.
In its almost 40-year terror marketing campaign in opposition to Türkiye, the PKK-listed as a terrorist group by Türkiye, the US and the European Union-has been liable for the deaths of over 40,000 individuals, together with ladies, youngsters and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
– GAZA WAR
Turning to the continued Israeli battle within the Gaza Strip, Fidan mentioned: “The Israeli system, led by the Netanyahu government, has a policy of using Hamas as an excuse to completely destroy the Palestinian resistance movement and to legitimize and institutionalize the occupation it has been continuing for years.”
Fidan emphasised that after Oct. 7, 2023, Israel revealed its “systematic war plan” to show the occasions to its personal benefit.
He pressured that European states and the US didn’t cease Israel’s coverage; quite the opposite, they supported it.
The two-state resolution between Israel and Palestine, the cessation of battle, and the difficulty of humanitarian help at the moment are “extremely important,” he mentioned.
The Gaza battle is an “extremely important” subject when it comes to the course of the present system on the earth, because the overwhelming majority sides with the Palestinians, Fidan mentioned, including the US and a few European states don’t help the two-state resolution and don’t react to Israel for “stealing someone else’s land.”
Pointing out that these nations ought to help the efforts of the Palestinians to determine a state, Fidan mentioned on this approach, Jews, Christians and Muslims can reside in peace within the area.
He added that the world now faces the hazard of the unfold of the battle and emphasised that this threat will proceed “as long as Israel continues its genocide.”
Stressing that the battle is more likely to flip into a serious battle and appeal to different actors, Fidan mentioned that Türkiye has warned European nations and regional actors concerning the Greek Cypriot administration, which has change into “an operations center.”
“After October 7, after the primary operations launched by Israel, we at all times see by way of intelligence stories that the Greek Cypriot administration has change into a base utilized by sure nations, particularly in operations in opposition to Gaza. Intelligence flights and navy flights in direction of Gaza are continuously carried on the market.
“When we brought this to the agenda, they suddenly declared this place a logistics base for Gaza. This logistics base’s operation has clearly turned into an activity that hides the fact that the place is actually a military base. The fact that this place and the Greek islands are used for operations towards the Middle East will benefit neither Greek Cyprus nor Greece. Our advice, we also told the Greeks, is to stay away from these places, because when you get involved in the ongoing wars in the Middle East, when you take sides, this fire will come and find you too. We are already in the same geography. It will come and find us too,” he added.
Fidan emphasised that regional actors ought to see that there’s severe militarization in Southern Cyprus and that this must be prevented.
Tensions have additionally soared alongside Lebanon’s border with Israel amid cross-border assaults between the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses forward with its lethal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed greater than 37,600 individuals since Oct. 7 final yr.
-RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Fidan mentioned he was in Russia lately to attend the BRICS+ assembly in Nizhny Novgorod and to carry talks within the capital Moscow, the place he was obtained by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
There is a risk that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Putin in Kazakhstan within the coming days, he mentioned.
Turning to the continued Russia-Ukraine battle, Fidan mentioned: “We are in a situation where more than 500,000 people have died, a country’s infrastructure and superstructure are about to be destroyed, millions of people have been displaced and the war has moved into Russia. We are no longer in a position to handle this spread.”
Regarding whether or not there’s a foundation for the Istanbul negotiation course of between Russia and Ukraine, he famous that he has at all times seen a foundation for the negotiation course of and identified that it’s important whether or not the events need to use this floor.
“This risk will continue as long as the war continues. There is no escape from this because both sides will have to use different qualified weapons and different game-changing methods in order to cause more damage to each other. Everything is in effect. Therefore, after proxies come into play, this spark has the opportunity to spread to other places,” he added.
– SYRIA
Evaluating the scenario in Syria, Fidan mentioned: “The most important thing that both the Russians and our side have achieved so far regarding Syria is that the war between the regime and the opposition does not continue as of now.”
“We would like the Syrian regime to use this period of non-conflict, this period of silence, wisely. Let them use all these years as an opportunity to solve their constitutional problems, make peace with their opponents, bring back millions of people who have fled abroad, left or emigrated and rebuild the country and revitalize its economy. But we see that this (opportunity) is not used enough,” he mentioned.
Türkiye believes that Syria, which has achieved slightly extra stability and has change into built-in with its authorities and opposition, can be a more practical actor, particularly within the battle in opposition to PKK terrorism, he added.
“The presence of Russia in Syria, the presence of Iran, Israel’s constant operations, and the presence of various militia groups further complicate the issue. In this complexity, it is important that we constantly pursue a dynamic policy to protect our national interests,” Fidan underlined.
– EUROPE
Fidan emphasised that it’s important for Europe to cooperate with Türkiye to change into a “more independent and confident” geostrategic actor.
Upon a query on how Türkiye can be affected by the rise of the far proper in Europe, Fidan defined that the far proper in Europe is taken into account a “threat” class.
“We also perceive issues that pose a threat to our compatriots living abroad as threats. Not just within our borders. The far right has a very criminal history in Europe, especially against the Turkish and Muslim masses,” he added.
Turning to Türkiye’s need to affix BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Fidan mentioned it isn’t an “axis shift.”
Asked whether or not BRICS is an alternative choice to the G7, Fidan mentioned: “The G7 is a place where countries that think about more political issues, the same strategic goals and the same field of civilization come together. BRICS, on the other hand, is a platform that started for economic purposes at that point.”
Stating that BRICS is a platform that features all civilizations, races and religions in comparison with the EU, Fidan defined that the platform can produce severe advantages when it’s structured and institutionalized, as within the EU.
Source: www.anews.com.tr