Anadolu Agency's Morning Briefing – July 19, 2022

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, weeks after signing a protocol with NATO membership hopefuls Sweden and Finland, stressed that the alliance’s expansion policies should go in line with the sensitivities of longtime member Türkiye.

“I repeat it again that we will freeze their NATO accession process if the conditions are not met,” he added.

In the scope of its increasingly efficient and resolute war on terror, Türkiye neutralized two PKK terrorists including Necati Utku Kiraz, codenamed Azat Kendal, who was responsible for numerous bomb attacks against civilians in the country, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on Twitter.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar revealed that a plan for grain shipments from Ukraine was agreed on in principle after a meeting between Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian and UN officials.

The parties are now working to turn this into a concrete implementation plan, he added.

In a related development, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed hope that the diplomatic efforts led by Türkiye to unblock Ukrainian grain exports will bring an agreement this week.

He noted that “it is not a diplomatic game,” as the lives of “tens of thousands of people depend on this agreement.”

Borrell also said following his proposal that the foreign ministers of the EU member states reached a political agreement to provide another €500 million in military aid for Ukraine, bringing the bloc’s total contribution to €2.5 billion.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said all parties must “seriously learn from the hard lessons of the Ukraine crisis” in a phone call with his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto.

Referring to criticism aimed at Beijing for its refusal to directly condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine, he reiterated that “China is not a party to the Ukraine crisis.”

China on Monday also said it welcomes the Philippines to “negotiate railway projects cooperation” as Manila seeks to review any possible financial agreement with Beijing on infrastructure projects.

In a day-long visit to Algeria’s capital, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi sealed 15 agreements Monday in key sectors of cooperation with the African country, including the increase of gas supplies necessary to face a possible cut in Russian gas.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he delivered a letter to US President Joe Biden advising him that apprehending Julian Assange would be an attack on freedom of speech.

Assange should be freed, as he did not "commit any serious crime," he said in the letter, Obrador revealed.

South Korea has launched an investigation into the 2019 repatriation of two North Korean fishermen who confessed to killing 16 of their fellow crew members in a bid to defect to South Korea.