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Türkiye criticizes EU over 'strategic blindness' on Ukraine

Türkiye Materials 30 November 2022 05:04 (UTC +04:00)
Türkiye criticizes EU over 'strategic blindness' on Ukraine

The European Union decision not to consult with Türkiye on a new mission to provide military assistance to Ukraine is another example of its strategic blindness, the Turkish top diplomat has said, vowing Ankara will continue its efforts for ending the crisis in Ukraine, Trend reports citing Hurriyet Daily News.

“We are happy to see the cooperation between the EU and NATO. The EU has launched a new security assistance mission and it did not consult with Türkiye. To be honest, it is not important for us to be a part of this but I wanted to raise this as an example on how the EU lost its strategic vision because of some member states’ unilateral interests,” Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavushoglu said at a panel at Aspen Institute in Bucharest on Nov. 29.

Cavushoglu is in Romania to attend the NATO foreign ministerial meeting with the participation of allied countries as well as Sweden and Finland, two Nordic states which want to join NATO. He was scheduled to hold a three-way meeting with Swedish and Finnish counterparts and bilateral meetings with British and German foreign ministers.

Cavushoglu referred to the EU’s Military Assistance Mission that coordinates the union’s support to Ukraine in its ongoing defense.

“I say we don’t need to be a part of this mission because everyone knows how we support Ukraine. We will definitely continue to move as security and stability provider in the regions suffering from heavy clashes,” Cavushoglu said.

“Türkiye’s success will be the success of Europe. Failure is not an option for us.”

The Turkish minister underlined the mediation role Türkiye has been playing since the conflict in Ukraine. “We strongly support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, including Crimea, and continue our assistance to Ukraine. At the same time, we are taking steps to draw clashes and conflict under control. It was not easy to prolong the Istanbul Grain Deal and to implement it,” he said.

Minister Cavushoglu also called on the allied countries to stand with Türkiye on its fight against terror. “Article 5 of the NATO Peace Treaty has been activated only once after 9/11. The allies should stand with Türkiye which has been the most targeted by terrorism.”

The food and energy crises stemming from the war in Ukraine have exposed the weaknesses of Europe and all the allies should rediscover the fundamentals of the European security architecture after the war, the minister stated.

“We need a collective response against threats regardless of where they come from. Plus, we should not be selective about threats. Terrorism constitutes one of two main threats outlined by the strategic concept during the Madrid Summit of NATO,” he noted.

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