Türkiye’s Erdogan Says He Trusts Russia as Much as He Trusts the West 

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents medium-term economic program forecasts in Ankara, Türkiye, September 9, 2023. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents medium-term economic program forecasts in Ankara, Türkiye, September 9, 2023. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan Says He Trusts Russia as Much as He Trusts the West 

Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents medium-term economic program forecasts in Ankara, Türkiye, September 9, 2023. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters)
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presents medium-term economic program forecasts in Ankara, Türkiye, September 9, 2023. (Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he trusts Russia as much he trusts the West.

Explaining his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan said he had failed to get him to resume the Black Sea grain deal the Kremlin withdrew from in July but had elicited a pledge for Russia to supply 1 million tons of grain to Africa.

“I have no reason not to trust them,” Erdogan said during an interview late Monday with US broadcaster PBS in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly.

“To the extent the West is reliable, Russia is equally reliable. For the last 50 years, we have been waiting at the doorstep of the EU and, at this moment in time, I trust Russia just as much as I trust the West.”

Ankara has maintained close ties with both Russia and Ukraine during the 19-month war. In July last year, Türkiye and the UN engineered a deal to allow Ukrainian grain to be safely shipped from its Black Sea ports, helping alleviate a global food crisis.

Moscow pulled out of the agreement two months ago, claiming a parallel deal to allow its exports of foodstuffs and fertilizer had not been honored.

Erdogan is visiting New York four months after winning elections that extended his 20-year rule for another five years. His fresh mandate has seen signs of an improvement in Ankara’s often fractious relationship with the West.

Speaking at an event on Monday, the Turkish leader appeared to roll back comments he made immediately prior to his departure for New York, in which he suggested Türkiye could end its 24-year bid for European Union membership.

“We see that a window of opportunity has opened for the revitalization of Türkiye-European Union relations in a critical period,” Erdogan said, according to a text of the meeting published by his office.

“We continue to emphasize the importance of revitalizing Türkiye’s EU accession process.”

Erdogan also indicated improving ties with Washington, which have recently focused on Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership application and a possible deal to supply Türkiye with F-16 fighter jets.

“We are pleased with the development of our cooperation with the US,” Erdogan said. “We have resolved most of the deadlocks during the talks with Mr. Biden and we have decided to hold more talks in line with the positive agenda.”

Türkiye and Hungary are the only NATO members not to have approved Sweden’s bid to join the defense alliance, which Stockholm made following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The issue is due to be debated by the Turkish parliament when it returns from recess next month.

Some members of the US Congress have indicated the provision of F-16s to update Türkiye’s fighter fleet is dependent on Ankara agreeing to Sweden’s NATO membership.

But Erdogan reiterated that “these two topics shouldn’t be related” although he said the decision on Sweden lies with the Turkish parliament, where his party and its allies hold a majority.

“If the parliament doesn’t make a positive decision about this bid, then there’s nothing to do,” he told PBS.

Erdogan also drew a line between Sweden’s NATO bid and Türkiye’s EU accession. In July, however, he called on EU member states to “open the way for Türkiye” in return for Sweden’s path to NATO to be cleared.

He told PBS on Monday that “Sweden’s position and our current position within the EU accession negotiations are two separate things.”

Turning to the war in Ukraine and his contacts with Putin, Erdogan said it was “quite obvious that this war is going to last a long time” but that the Russian leader was “on the side of ending this war as soon as possible.

“That’s what he said. And I believe his remarks,” Erdogan said.



Iran, European Countries Hold ‘Frank, Constructive’ Talks to Break Nuclear Stalemate

Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
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Iran, European Countries Hold ‘Frank, Constructive’ Talks to Break Nuclear Stalemate

Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)
Majid Takht-Ravanchi briefs Iran’s National Security Committee on the results of the second round of dialogue with the European countries early last month. (Iranian parliament)

Talks between Iran and European powers in Geneva regarding Tehran's disputed nuclear program were serious, frank and constructive, high level Iranian diplomats said, just a week before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

European Union diplomat Enrique Mora said he held a “constructive meeting” with Iranian deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi in Geneva on “exploring ways for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue.”

For his part, Gharibabadi posted on X that he and Takht-Ravanchi held open and constructive discussions with Mora and his team.

“We exchanged views mainly on nuclear and sanctions lifting as well as other issues of mutual interest,” he wrote.

“We also addressed Europe’s support for Israeli crimes in Gaza,” Gharibabadi said.

The Iranian delegation and the three European powers, Britain, France and Germany, known as the E3, met in Geneva on Monday.

“Against a challenging context, we discussed concerns and reiterated our commitment to a diplomatic solution. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” they said in a statement posted on their X accounts.

Before the meeting with the Iranian delegation, the German foreign ministry told AFP that the talks were “not negotiations” while Iran said they were merely “consultations.”

Iran's ISNA news agency reported that the two Iranian diplomats and their counterparts from the E3 “discussed issues of mutual interest, including negotiations for lifting sanctions, the nuclear issue and the worrying situation in the region.”

It was the second round of such talks between Iran and the E3 in less than two months, following a discreet meeting in Geneva last November.

At that time, an Iranian official told Reuters that finalizing a roadmap with Europeans would “put the ball in the US court to revive or kill the nuclear deal.”

On Monday, Gharibabadi said in a post on X, “We discussed ideas involving certain details in the sanctions-lifting and nuclear fields that are needed for a deal.”

“Sides concurred that negotiations should be resumed and to reach a deal, all parties should create and maintain the appropriate atmosphere. We agreed to continue our dialogue,” he added.

Officials in Tehran fear that Trump will revive his maximum pressure strategy that sought to wreck Iran's economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.

In 2018, the US, led by then-President Trump, exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran.

That prompted Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits by rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.

Indirect talks between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed.

Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term.

Last December, a top Iranian diplomat warned Tehran would withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after the E3 informed the UN Security Council their readiness to use all diplomatic tools to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, including using snapback.

The snapback mechanism - part of the 2015 deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - allows signatories to reimpose United Nations sanctions on Iran in cases of the “significant non-performance” of commitments.