Türkiye seeks a just peace between Russia, Ukraine: Altun

Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun gives an interview to Il Messaggero, one of Italy's leading newspapers, ahead of third Intergovernmental Summit between Türkiye and Italy.

Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun says Ankara believes in peace.
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Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun says Ankara believes in peace.

Türkiye's goal is to contribute to a just peace between Russia and Ukraine under any circumstances, Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has said.

"By contrast, there are certain players that believe that they could benefit from the war dragging on for as long as possible," he told Italy's leading newspaper Il Messaggero in an interview before the third Intergovernmental Summit to be held between Türkiye and Italy on Monday.

"They think that 'if the war is prolonged, Russia will weaken' and they support the Ukrainians only enough to prolong the war."

He underlined that Türkiye has never been such a country, nor will it be like that in the future. 

"We must believe in peace and strive in peace," he added.

Talking about sanctions against Russia, he said that sanctions can only be meaningful and legitimate if imposed under the UN's umbrella.

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Nordic NATO bids

Altun also reitarated Türkiye's stance about Sweden and Finland's bid for NATO membership.

"From our perspective, the question of Sweden and Finland's NATO membership is exclusively about Sweden and Finland. If those nations, which remained neutral for a long time, are admitted into NATO, we will be pledging to defend them under Article 5."

"Therefore we need to see that those countries have fully internalised NATO's values and objectives and, at the same time, are fully committed to the Turkish people's safety."

He also added that Türkiye finds valuable Italy's support for Türkiye's EU membership since the beginning. 

"As Southern European Nations, we should be engaged in much closer cooperation," he emphasised.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Stockholm needs to change attitude on PKK/YPG terror group

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