Turkey wants to negotiate an end to the
conflict in Ukraine, while some other
NATO members would like to see it drag
on as a way to harm Russia, Ankara’s
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said
on Wednesday in a TV interview. In a
lengthy appearance on CNN Turk,
Cavusoglu addressed Turkey’s decision
not to sanction Moscow and why the
Istanbul talks between Russia and
Ukraine failed, among other things.
“There are countries within NATO that
want the Ukraine war to continue.
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They
see the continuation of the war as
weakening Russia. They don’t care much
about the situation in Ukraine,”
Cavusoglu said.
While he did not name any names, US
President Joe Biden said earlier this
month that the conflict in Ukraine “could
continue for a long time,” which was
echoed by the former CIA chief of
Russian operations.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after
a phone call with G7 leaders on Tuesday
that the West is united in not allowing
Russia to win and determined to
“continue to arm the Ukrainian military
so that it can continue to defend itself
against [Russian] attack.”
Turkey has decided not to join the US-
led sanctions against Russia because
they are unilateral, unlike the “binding
sanctions decided at the UN,” Cavusoglu
told CNN Turk. Ankara articulated its
position on the first day of the Ukraine
conflict, which is to continue diplomatic
contacts with both sides, as “a country
that both sides trust.”
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While Turkey did not expect much after
the first Russia-Ukraine talks in Antalya,
“hopes were high” after the follow-up
talks in Istanbul, Cavusoglu revealed.
However, Ukraine backtracked from the
agreement reached there after images of
the alleged massacre in Bucha, which
Kiev blamed on Russian troops. Moscow
has denied the allegations.
Cavusogly also shed light on Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demand
for security guarantees from NATO.
“Nobody agrees with Zelensky’s request
for NATO’s Article 5 guarantees,” the
minister said, referring to the alliance’s
famous mutual defense clause. “No
country has accepted this proposal. The
US, UK and Canada do not accept this
either. Of course, Turkey does not accept
this. In principle, no one opposes this
guarantee, but the terms of it are not
clear.”
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Russia attacked the neighboring state in
late February, following Ukraine’s failure
to implement the terms of the Minsk
agreements, first signed in 2014, and
Moscow’s eventual recognition of the
Donbass republics of Donetsk and
Lugansk. The German and French
brokered protocols were designed to give
the breakaway regions special status
within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that
Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral
country that will never join the US-led
NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the
Russian offensive was completely
unprovoked and has denied claims it
was planning to retake the two republics
by force.
Source:- rt