UPDATE - EU decision for Ukraine military training mission lacks 'strategic thinking,' says Türkiye

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM FOREIGN MINISTER CAVUSOGLU; OTHER EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's foreign minister on Tuesday criticized the bloc's lack of engagement with Ankara on new military training for Ukraine.

"The EU announced a new security training mission for Ukraine. And yet again, it ignored consulting with Türkiye before launching that mission," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a public policy forum in Bucharest, Romania.

On Nov. 14, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced that EU foreign ministers were expected to give the green light for a training mission for some 15,000 Ukrainian troops.

Cavusoglu said that while it was not "important" whether Türkiye would be part of the mission, he called this "an example of how the EU lost its strategic thinking because of the narrow interests of a few members states."

"I say we don't need (to be part of the mission) because individually, everybody knows how much we are supporting Ukraine," he added.

Emphasizing the need to "rediscover the spirit of unity to ensure the new European security," the top Turkish diplomat said a "natural extension to that vision is being inclusive and reviving the enlargement prospects of the EU."

"Enlargement should extend from the Balkans to Georgia, including Ukraine and Moldova. And, this region cannot be complete without my country, Türkiye," he added.

"Imagine the impact of the Istanbul grain deal or impact of the other efforts that we have spent would have on the EU's global outreach, if the EU had engaged with us, with my country, Türkiye," he said, referring to the landmark deal reached this summer to unblock grain exports amid the Ukraine war.

Pledging to "continue to act as a security and stability provider in the middle of regions marked by conflicts," Cavusoglu said "the success of Türkiye will be the success of Europe."

"Failure is not an option for us. But a misstep will mean instability for Europe as a whole," he added.

Türkiye applied for EU membership in 1987 and accession talks began in 2005. The negotiations, however, stalled in 2007 due to objections raised by the Greek Cypriot administration and opposition from Germany and France.

- Pillars of European security

****Arguing that the war in Ukraine and the subsequent food and energy crises demonstrated the international community's weaknesses, Cavusoglu stressed the need to "rediscover the main pillars of the European security architecture."

****"First, security is indivisible: No matter where the threat comes from, we need a collective response. Second, we cannot be selective about threats. Terrorism is one of the two main threats recognized by the Strategic Concept," he said, mentioning how NATO’s famous Article 5 was activated only once, after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.

****According to Article 5, an attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all allies. Cavusoglu thus urged NATO allies to also "stand by Türkiye, the ally that has been targeted the most by terrorism."

***"Third, it’s possible to be flexible without making concessions. We strongly support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and continue our material support for Ukraine. At the same time, we have taken various steps to contain the conflict and ease the tension," he added.

**** Cavusoglu stressed how Türkiye is strictly implementing the Montreux Convention to prevent any further escalation in the Black Sea.

****"No military vessel crossed the (Turkish) Straits since March. No Russian military plane can cross over Türkiye to Syria. We are calling on both all actors but particularly Russia and Belarus for restraint on every occasion whenever we are in touch with them," Cavusoglu said.

***Emphasizing that "simply condemning cannot resolve the problem," Cavusoglu called on allies to "act and be creative to ensure a just peace. A just peace for Ukraine particularly. That’s exactly what we are trying to do as Türkiye."

****"As human losses mount, it is becoming more difficult to reach a negotiated solution. Obviously there are new realities," he said, noting that there is no alternative to a negotiated solution.

The Aspen – GMF Bucharest Forum, where Cavusoglu was speaking, comes ahead of meetings of NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday and Wednesday, also in Bucharest.