Türkiye supports Ukraine's NATO bid but calls for realistic approach – Turkish FM
Photo: Х / Hakan Fidan
Türkiye is open to Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance but emphasizes the need for a realistic approach.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated this in an interview with Bloomberg TV, the text of which is posted on the Turkish Foreign Ministry's website.
As Fidan noted, Türkiye's official position, voiced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is to support Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.
"Well, we wouldn't mind if they want to be a NATO member, but we have to be very much realistic, because we openly stated that we are in favor of Ukraine to be a NATO member. This was the statement from our President, so this is our official position," the politician noted.
The minister also said that Ukraine wants to join NATO only to "see a security guarantee for its own country."
"Ukrainians are asking for NATO membership, just not because of being a NATO member. It's just to see a security guarantee for their own country. So, if they engage, let's say, a ceasefire agreement or a peace agreement, some sort of security guarantee, this is what they think is necessary to engage such a thing. Because if the war re-emerges, so what will be the security guarantee for them? This is what they are seeking. I think now the security guarantee for not seeing the war re-emerging is one of the primary questions that we are discussing in the negotiations," Fidan said.
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Earlier, Rubryka reported that US President-elect Donald Trump shared his views on Ukraine's potential NATO membership, stating that it has consistently been "a big part of the problem" for Russia. He criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for supporting Ukraine's accession to NATO.
In turn, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the North Atlantic Alliance never promised that peace negotiations on the war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation would end with Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will never legally recognize its occupied lands as the territory of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the country is ready to discuss the diplomatic return of the lands if it remains in NATO.
The head of state also noted that if Ukraine does not become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance, it must "build its own NATO."
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