Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he wants a possible deal on resuming Ukrainian grain exports from the Black Sea under a United Nations-led plan to be put in writing this week after a general agreement was reached last week, according to the text shared by the Turkish presidency on Wednesday.
On Monday, Ankara said a meeting between Russia, Ukraine, Türkiye and the U.N. would “probably” be held this week.
“An agreement emerged from the talks in Istanbul last week on the general outline of the process under the U.N. plan. Now, we want to tie this agreement to a written document,” Erdoğan told reporters on a return flight from Tehran, where he met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
“We hope the plan will begin to be implemented in the coming days,” Erdoğan added.
He also said Türkiye and Russia, maritime neighbours in the Black Sea, would continue their solidarity on natural gas and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, adding he had also discussed the procurement of amphibious airplanes from Russia with Putin.
ERDOĞAN: ALMOST ALL NORDIC COUNTRIES ARE “NESTS OF TERROR”
Erdoğan said on Wednesday that almost all Nordic countries had become “nests of terror”, and repeated a threat to block Finland and Sweden‘s NATO membership bids if the two did not keep terrorism-related promises made to Ankara.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but were faced with opposition from Türkiye, which accused them countries of supporting groups it deems terrorists. Last month, the three countries signed an accord to lift Ankara’s veto in exchange for pledges on counter-terrorism and arms exports.
Speaking to reporters on a flight from Tehran, Erdoğan said almost all Nordic countries, including Norway, had become “nests of terror“, adding NATO allies Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Britain were also allowing groups Türkiye considers to be terrorist organisations roam free, according to a text shared by the presidency.
GREECE-RELATED CONDITIONS IMPOSED ON U.S. SALE OF F-16S NOT BINDING
Erdoğan said a condition set out by the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure that F-16 fighter jets which might be sold to Ankara are not used to violate Greece‘s air space was not binding, according to a text shared by the presidency on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Ankara called on its NATO ally not to fall for a “game” by U.S. lawmakers, after the House approved legislation that would stop the F-16 sale unless the administration certifies it is essential for U.S. national security, while also including a description of steps taken to ensure they are not used for overflights over Greece.
Speaking to reporters on a flight returning from Tehran, Erdoğan said U.S. President Joe Biden had not set out any conditions for the sale when the two met on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid last month.
NEW OFFENSIVE INTO SYRIA TO STAY ON AGENDA UNTIL CONCERNS ADDRESSED
A new Turkish offensive against the YPG militia in Syria will remain on Türkiye’s agenda until its security concerns are addressed, Erdoğan said, according to a text shared by the presidency, after talks with Iran and Russia’s leaders.
Erdoğan, who announced earlier this year that Türkiye would launch a new offensive in northern Syria against the YPG, held talks on Syria with his Russian and Iranian counterparts in Tehran on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight, Erdoğan said the three countries were united in counter-terrorism despite having different views on some Syria-related issues, adding he believes all three think alike regarding the YPG, which Ankara considers a terrorist organisation.
Erdoğan accused the YPG of “draining” Syrian petrol and later selling it to the Bashar al-Assad regime. He also said the United States must withdraw from the east of the Euphrates river and halt its support for terrorist groups.
