Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed on Thursday that any attempt by the European Union to strengthen the security strategy of Europe is unfeasible and ‘unrealistic’ if it excludes a military power like Turkey, while referring to the situation of the peace negotiations on Ukraine coinciding with the meeting that delegations from Russia and the US are holding today in Istanbul.
Fidan made these statements during a joint press conference with Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani, on an official visit to Ankara, in which the Turkish Foreign Minister referred to the new policy of the Trump administration towards Ukraine and the US attempts to obtain compensation for economic and military aid to Kiev through an agreement to exploit its natural resources.
‘There is also discussion about what kind of guarantees Ukraine will receive in return, as far as we know,’ said Fidan, recalling that Zelenskyy will travel to Washington tomorrow and that the Ukrainian demands for security guarantees and military support in the event of a ceasefire with Russia are also expected to be discussed at that meeting. “We will see how these demands are met and to what extent the Americans accept them,” the Turkish minister commented.
Fidan also spoke about the intense talks that the leaders of the EU are also holding with both the United States and among them about European security, for which they plan to meet this weekend in London. ‘While steps are being taken to end the war in Ukraine, we also see European countries trying to set up a major internal consultation mechanism. What will Europe’s security architecture look like in the future? We are seeing that questions about European security without NATO are being put forward for discussion by European leaders,’ he said.
‘If Europe’s security architecture is to be reformed, it is not possible to do this without Turkey. One point that must be emphasised is that a perspective on European security architecture that leaves Turkey out, that leaves a military power like Turkey out, is not very realistic,’ Fidan stressed, adding that Ankara is following these discussions within the EU very closely.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
