Erdogan: West wont be allowed to drive Turkey into a war with Russia
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Erdogan revealed plans for a possible visit of President Putin to Turkey in late April, as evidence of the friendly ties between Russia and Turkey despite the latter’s membership in the NATO alliance.
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Russian President Putin meets with Turkish President Erdogan during the SCO leaders' summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on September 16, 2022
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he will not allow the West to drag Turkey into a war with Russia.
"If not for our efforts over the past two years, the West would have dragged Turkey into a war against Russia. While we are here [in power], we will not have this happen," Erdogan told A Haber TV channel.
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Erdogan added that Ankara intends to maintain neutrality by acting as a mediator in the pertinent war between Russia and Ukraine.
He also revealed plans for a possible visit of President Putin to Turkey in late April, as evidence of the friendly ties between Russia and Turkey despite the latter’s membership in the NATO alliance.
"On April 27, perhaps Mr. Putin will also come, or we will meet online and, hopefully, take the first step," Erdogan told A Haber TV channel.
Read more: Turkey to uphold Chinese Ukraine initiative if it promotes peace talks
Last week, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin announced that Ankara will support a negotiation process on the Ukrainian conflict settlement if Chinese initiatives lay the foundation for peace talks.
"As I understand and see, [Chinese President] Mr. Xi [Jinping] will hold negotiations with [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky to discuss current issues. If it lays a foundation for the talks, we will support this," Kalin told Turkish broadcaster NTV.
Back in January 2023, a spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party Omer Celik said that Turkey's withdrawal from NATO is not currently under consideration.
Read more: Erdogan: West only provokes conflict in Ukraine, fails to mediate
In late 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the West for provocations in Ukraine against Russia, while Ankara was successful in landing the Blank Sea Grain after mediating between the conflicted parties.
Turkey has persistently reiterated its goal to stop the war in Ukraine through mediation efforts.
"President Erdogan intends to continue efforts to resume the negotiation process to achieve a ceasefire [in Ukraine]. With the ability to negotiate with the two sides, the Turkish President intends to continue offering his mediation," Sputnik reported citing a diplomatic source back in January.
