Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a joint press conference with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, where he arrived for the Turkey-Romania-Poland Trilateral Cooperation Foreign Ministers meeting.
Minister Fidan made the following statements at the press conference;
“We had a fruitful meeting in a really good format. In our meetings today, we discussed our preparations for the NATO summit to be held in Washington next month. It is obvious that we need to improve relations between our countries in the face of security challenges in the region adjacent to NATO. We discussed what we can do in this regard. I had the opportunity to explain in detail with Mr. Sikorski and Mr. Odobescu the priorities and expectations of our country regarding the NATO summit.
NATO
I emphasized to my distinguished counterparts the importance of implementing and following up the decisions taken at the Vilnius Summit. As you know, sanctions, restrictions and barriers between allies, especially in the field of defense industry, should be completely lifted. It is incompatible with the spirit of alliance for alliance member countries to impose sanctions on each other. We emphasize this on every occasion. In this context, we also expect the commitments made in Vilnius to be fulfilled. Sanctions and restrictions do not only affect the allied country subjected to them. This anomaly actually reduces NATO’s deterrence and defense capacity.
Dear friends, during our talks today we also discussed the fight against terrorism and we expect NATO to take concrete steps in this regard. Turkey has been paying a heavy price in the fight against terrorism for years. It is our most natural right to expect our allies to unconditionally stand by us in this fight. This is because alliance requires all members to be in maximum solidarity with each other on such a sensitive issue as the fight against terrorism. We emphasized once again that the promises made on the fight against terrorism should be completed by the summit in Washington.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
We discussed the latest situation in the war between Russia and Ukraine in detail with my esteemed counterparts. As you know, as Turkey, we are in favor of giving priority to diplomacy and negotiation in all conflicts and wars. We maintain this approach in Ukraine as well. The diplomacy option should not be pushed aside in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Moreover, the Montreux Straits Convention plays an important role in preventing escalation of tensions in the region. We continue and will continue to implement this stability-preserving convention in letter and spirit, impartially and meticulously. Dear friends, NATO is the most important actor in ensuring the effective defense and security of Europe. Attempts to weaken this leading and essential role of NATO should be avoided. I shared with my esteemed colleagues today that we are disturbed by some attempts in this direction. I pointed out that initiatives that could be embodied under the umbrella of other international organizations in Europe could harm transatlantic security.
GAZA
Dear members of the press, the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was among the topics we discussed. The massacre that has been going on for months is now a serious threat to global security and this threat is shared by all relevant actors. The massacre in Gaza has the potential to trigger a regional war at any moment. Countries that support unconditional support for Israel should reconsider their stance before it is too late. Under the guise of ensuring its own security, Israel is massacring Gazans in front of the eyes of the whole world. It is displacing millions of people. It is impossible to make progress with an understanding that remains a bystander to this atrocity, an understanding that does not care one iota about the security of Palestinians. In order to end this human tragedy in Gaza, a permanent ceasefire must be established as soon as possible and the parties must sit down at the table. Israeli prisoners and Palestinian detainees must be released. Displaced Palestinians must be allowed to return to their homes. Israel must withdraw from the occupied territories, and the reconstruction of Gaza must begin. We believe it is possible to turn the crisis in Gaza into an opportunity for lasting peace. We invite Israel to heed the calls of the international community and approach the process positively.
POLAND TRADE RELATIONS
Dear friends, on the occasion of this powerful meeting, my friends and I had the opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations. During my meeting with Mr. Sikorski, we discussed the joint steps we can take to further strengthen our relations. Our bilateral trade volume has reached 13 billion dollars, exceeding the target we set last year. As NATO allies, we are determined to further strengthen our cooperation in the defense industry with concrete projects.
EUROPEAN UNION
Poland will assume the rotating presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2025. We hope that during Poland’s presidency, our country will take important steps in revitalizing and advancing the European Union process.
TRADE RELATIONS WITH ROMANIA
Our relations with Romania are at the level of strategic partnership, just like Poland. At the high-level strategic cooperation council meeting last month, we confirmed our determination to further strengthen our relations. We aim to increase our trade volume, which has exceeded 10 billion dollars in the last two consecutive years, to 15 billion dollars next year. Our defense and military cooperation constitutes an important dimension of our relations with Romania. The mines drifting into the Black Sea pose a great threat to our countries. In line with our commitments at the NATO Vilnius Summit against this threat, a Black Sea mine countermeasures task group has been established with the participation of Romania and Bulgaria under the leadership of our country.”
