Erdogan: West security regime jeopardized by Ukraine war

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared at a Justice and Development Party meeting that panic had spread across Europe as a result of the war in Ukraine.

"We are witnessing a state of panic in Europe," Erdogan remarked, saying that "the regime that the West established to ensure its security and prosperity is collapsing."

Erdogan emphasized that Ankara opposes Sweden and Finland joining NATO because it does not accept their claims regarding contacts with representatives of the Kurdistan Workers' Party outlawed in Turkey.

He also clarified that some countries called on Ankara to be flexible about NATO expansion, stressing, "We will not change our position on the entry of Sweden and Finland to NATO before our conditions are met."

As part of his attempts to overcome Turkey's rejection to admit Finland and Sweden to the alliance, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that Turkey is an essential ally, and "we will continue dialogue with them over the membership of Finland and Sweden."

On Saturday, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey understands the countries' positions regarding Russia, but Ankara believes that it is in its interest to maintain an open line of communication with Moscow. 

"We understand the feelings and positions of other countries that they have adopted [in relation to Russia]. However, we believe that we should maintain an open dialogue with Russia. If everyone burns bridges with Russia, who will talk to them?" Kalin told Turkey's Star newspaper.

Erdogan highlighted Ankara's "pessimism" over Sweden and Finland's aspirations to join NATO on May 13, emphasizing his desire "not to repeat the mistake of bringing Greece into the alliance."

This comes after Finland and Sweden submitted formal applications to join NATO, and the NATO Council will first consider membership applications, after which the membership agreement must be ratified at the national level in all 30 NATO countries.