UPDATE 2 - Türkiye expects EU to call on Greece for bilateral dialogue, says president

ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Diyar Guldogan

PRAGUE (AA) - Türkiye expects the European Union to call on Greece for dialogue on a bilateral basis instead of supporting illegal initiatives, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday.

"I expect the EU to call on our interlocutors for dialogue on a bilateral basis instead of supporting illegal initiatives masquerading as unity or solidarity," Erdogan said at a news conference in the Czech Republic.

Erdogan is in the capital Prague at the invitation of European Council President Charles Michel and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to attend the first meeting of the European Political Community.

The president said he held "intensive and productive" talks at the summit, where Türkiye conveyed its views, contributions and assessments on the challenges Europe is currently faced with in terms of peace and security, energy, climate and the economic situation.

He added that Türkiye is "irreplaceable" in overcoming the EU's challenges and redefining its international role.

"Our fundamental and primary expectation is that the European Political Community will strengthen our relations with the (European) union and contribute to our membership process," Erdogan said.

Many countries at the summit expected a step from Türkiye to develop ties with Greece, Erdogan said, adding there was "nothing to talk about with Greece now."

"Not only Greece, but no matter which country is attacking us, our answer will always be: 'We may come suddenly one night.' They should know that," he said.

Stressing that Ankara does not seek to acquire the territory or sovereignty of any country, Erdogan said Türkiye was only fighting to protect its interests and those of Turkish Cypriots.

On Cyprus, he underlined that the "only key" to a solution on the East Mediterranean island was the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot people's sovereign equality and equal international status with the Greek Cypriot administration.

"For a permanent solution, the facts on the Island must be accepted," he added.

- Warming ties with Armenia

Turning to his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Erdogan said their talk was held in a "friendly atmosphere."

"I sincerely believe that we can achieve our goal of full normalization on the basis of good neighborly relations in our region," he said.

Despite Türkiye being one of the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence in 1991, the two countries have been divided on a range of issues, including Yerevan's occupation of Azerbaijani territories, the events of 1915 during the reign of the Ottoman Empire and the border closure between the two neighboring countries since 1993.

In 2021, Ankara and Yerevan mutually appointed special representatives to normalize ties.

Erdogan said the two countries' foreign ministers and special representatives will gather and take the step to a further level.

"We want to warm up relations between Türkiye-Armenia-Azerbaijan as soon as possible and solve this issue," he added.

Erdogan told Pashinyan that Türkiye has no preconditions for this, adding: "As soon as you make a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, we will have no problem."

- Grain shipments beneficial for all of Europe

Erdogan said the Istanbul grain deal and Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap are diplomatic successes for Türkiye despite all difficulties.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February.

A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN was set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

Erdogan said that since the first ship left Ukraine under the deal on Aug. 1, over 6 million tons of agricultural products have left ports.

"The continuation of the grain shipments in the upcoming period will be to the benefit of the people of Ukraine, all of Europe and the world," Erdogan said.

The president also stressed that Russian fertilizers should be supplied to countries in need via Türkiye.

"We care about the issues of grain and fertilizer as much as the exchange of prisoners. Tomorrow, we will have a phone call with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and evaluate these matters," he added.

Turning to Sweden and Finland's NATO bids, Erdogan said: "As long as the marches of terrorist organizations continue in Sweden and these terrorists are present in the parliament, our stance on Sweden will not be positive."

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in June, a decision spurred by Russia's war on Ukraine.

However, Türkiye voiced objections to the membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting terrorist groups.

A trilateral memorandum at the NATO summit signed among the countries in June stipulates that Finland and Sweden will not provide support to the YPG/PYD, the PKK's Syrian offshoot, or to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Türkiye.

- 'No meeting with Syria's Assad at the moment'

Upon a question about a possible meeting with Syria's Bashar al-Assad, Erdogan said: "As of now, of course, such a thing is out of the question," adding talks continue at a low level.

However, Erdogan hinted that he might meet with him in the future.

"Our only desire is to clear the terrorist groups from Syria," he added.

The president has repeatedly stressed that Türkiye will continue its efforts to destroy a "corridor" that terrorists are attempting to build along its border.

He added that since Türkiye's cross-border operations in Syria began in 2016, approximately 550,000 uprooted Syrians in Türkiye had voluntarily returned to the resulting safe zones in their country.