Ankara Criticizes European Decisions on Turkish-Russian Ties

Istanbul Office
On Wednesday, The Turkish Foreign Ministry criticized the decisions of the General Affairs Council of the European Union on trade ties between Turkey and Russia, and Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus issues. The state-run Anadolu Agency quoted the statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry that said that such decisions, in which the common interests of the EU are sacrificed to the interests of some member states, neither contribute to Turkey-EU relations nor constitute a constructive agenda. The statement added that the resolutions adopted by the EU General Affairs Council on Turkey revealed the Union’s narrow-minded view towards Ankara and stressed that this approach shows that the Union cannot correctly understand the new structure of the international order. The Foreign Ministry emphasized its total rejection of the allegations against Turkey, adding: “We reject the EU’s unfair allegations regarding democracy, the rule of law, and human rights in Turkey. We also do not accept the unfortunate statements of the EU about the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus issue.” Noting that these resolutions ignored Turkey’s continued diplomatic efforts to end the armed conflict in Ukraine and the support Ankara has pledged to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The Foreign Ministry expressed surprise that the European Union reduced Ankara’s positions towards the Russian-Ukrainian war to not complying with the Union’s sanctions (imposed on Russia). The statement noted that the EU General Affairs Council seeks to show Turkey’s principled position of not participating in unilateral sanctions as deliberately weakening the impact of sanctions. The statement pointed out that Turkey’s economic and trade ties with Russia do not have a negative effect over the EU-led sanctions and that the continuation of Ankara’s dialogue with Russia is essential in terms of keeping the negative impacts of the Ukrainian war at a minimum level, and the statement added: “Although Turkey is not a party to the sanctions, questioning our country’s firm position on not allowing sanctions to be violated is also a deliberate approach by the European Union.” It further added, “For Turkey to take EU decisions seriously, the EU must see Turkey as a candidate country conducting membership negotiations and show the necessary political will in this regard.”

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