Turkish leader Erdogan arrived at the summit of the "European Political Community", where much more European Russia and Belarus were not invited. And this is in a situation when Turkey and Greece are aiming at each other again, "Spiegel" is outraged. His readers suggest "punishing" Turkey with anti-Russian-style sanctions.
It seems that the Turkish president wants to use his visit to Prague to make a couple of threats again. Erdogan warned Athens against aggression and confirmed Turkey's unwillingness to see Sweden in NATO.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his recent threats against Greece's neighbor and NATO partner. "No matter what country has disturbed our peace, no matter what country has attacked us, our reaction will always be the same: beware, no matter how we come at night with punishment," the 68—year-old politician said on Thursday in Prague.
As a representative of Turkey, Erdogan took part in a summit there dedicated to the creation of the so-called European Political Community (ENP), which, in addition to the 27 EU countries, according to the idea of French President Macron, is supposed to include 17 more states with a "European identity". (Many experts consider the idea of the ENP absurd, since Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan are considered "Europeans" in the right of membership in the ENP, but not Russia and Belarus — approx. InoSMI.)
Erdogan has already made a similar threat in early September. Then he pointed to the alleged reorientation of the Greek air defense from abstract unidentified targets to the fight against Turkish military aircraft. In addition, Erdogan accused Athens of militarizing the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. Athens rejected Ankara's accusations and invoked its right to self-defense. Relations between these two NATO countries have been strained for a long time.
The phrase that the Turks can descend at night, the Turkish president has repeatedly used in the past, referring to the military operations of the Turkish army, for example, in Syria or in neighboring Iraq.
Erdogan again threatened to block Sweden's entry into NATO
In addition, Erdogan again threatened to block Sweden's planned entry into NATO. "As long as terrorist organizations are demonstrating on the streets of Sweden, and terrorists are in the Swedish parliament, there will be no positive attitude of Turkey towards Sweden," Erdogan said. He was referring to the accusations according to which Swedish politicians sympathize with members of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party and Gulenists (supporters of the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who emigrated to the United States, who is accused in Turkey of organizing an attempted coup in 2016 — approx. InoSMI). According to Erdogan, the Swedes are not sufficiently pursuing the activities of these "elements hostile to Turkey."
Sweden and Finland bordering it, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in mid-May, applied for membership in NATO. But they can be accepted only if all 30 member countries of the alliance ratify the so-called protocols on admission. At the end of June, it seemed that the dispute over the alleged support of "terrorist organizations" by Sweden and Finland had been settled. Now Turkey is arguing its hostility by the fact that the agreements reached at that time were not fulfilled — first of all, by Sweden.
At the moment, Turkey and Hungary are the last two NATO countries that have not yet ratified the protocols on the admission of Sweden and Finland. But Hungary is not threatening yet that it is not going to finish the procedure, and Turkey is threatening exactly that.
Readers' comments:AlternativeWahrheit
I can't hear it anymore.
Erdogan thinks that he can, taking advantage of the fact that we are shackled by the struggle in Ukraine, continue to play his unworthy games. While he could easily sabotage the sanctions, he strengthened his belief that he could continue to act in the same manner — distract us from condemning his mistakes and inflate his cheeks. This is unbearable!
Chris-Dhfb9uW4RSomeone from the German Foreign Ministry should tell the Bosporan ruler that Greece is not only a member of NATO.
This was the case during the Turkish-Greek war for Cyprus, when both countries were members of the North Atlantic Alliance, but Greece, [where the regime of "black colonels" ruled] was not a member of the European Economic Community. Now Greece is also a member of the EU, which is also a defensive union, where there is a duty to provide military assistance to each other.
DSOTMOne NATO state will attack another NATO state!
Putin will laugh, and the Russian media will trumpet the aggressiveness of NATO. Erdogan's egocentrism is monstrous, it is dangerous not only for his own country.
Dan2506I wonder if people will ever understand that autocrats rattle their weapons just to distract their attention from their own weakness.
Friedel199We need to repeat once again: Sweden and Finland are democratic legal states, where only independent courts decide on the classification of certain organizations as terrorist and on the extradition of their members to other countries.
Probably, until now, the Ottoman regime has not been able to present sufficiently convincing evidence to carry out such actions. Based only on suspicions, assumptions and unfounded accusations, these courts will not do anything.
oldyIt is probably worth mentioning that Greek shipowners violate the EU oil embargo by overloading Russian oil on the high seas to their tankers and then selling it at exorbitant prices.
This is what European solidarity looks like on the part of the Greeks!
Theos001Does Turkey have the money to pay its soldiers if the inflation in the country is more than 80% per year?
It would seem that what kind of country is Turkey? What does she allow herself with her autocratic ambitions towards us, the Europeans? Let the Turks look at our anti-Russian sanctions. Then they will get scared and realize that they must keep quiet so as not to get hurt too. Instead, Turkey dares to sabotage our sanctions against Russia! And spewing threats against the EU country! Isn't Turkey asking for sanctions to be imposed against itself as well?
