Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in a TV interview about the upcoming meeting with US President Joe Biden, Turkish military operations in northern Iraq, Macron’s recent statements about NATO, relations with Egypt, and oil exploration in the Black Sea.
In a live TV interview with Turkish channel TRT, Erdogan answered reporters’ questions about current issues and developments in the region and the world.
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In answer to his question about the cause of tension in relations between Washington and Ankara.
Erdogan said: On the sidelines of the NATO summit, “We will ask President Biden about the cause of the severe tension in Turkish-American relations.”
“We are tired of seeing what the United States has to say about Armenians every April 24,” he told Biden.
Are you done with everything and you are now trying to become an Armenian lawyer?
Did your predecessors in the US government know less about this than you did?
“None of them used that word (Armenian genocide).”
“If the United States is our ally, should it stand with us or on the side of the terrorists? Unfortunately, they are with the terrorists.”
Relations with Egypt
In another part of the interview about relations with Egypt
“There is great potential for cooperation with Egypt in a wide area from the eastern Mediterranean to Libya,” Erdogan said.
I know the Egyptian people very well and I love them.
“The cultural aspect of our relationship is very strong, so we are determined to start this path again.”
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Turkey’s intention to continue operations in northern Iraq
The Turkish president spoke about his country’s military operations in northern Iraq:
“The terrorists will see and understand the reality of Turkey’s determination to drain the swamp of Qandil (the stronghold of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Iraq) so that the virus of terrorism does not spread again.”
Qandil and Makhmour in northern Iraq are the breeders of the terrorists, and if they are not purged, they will continue to spread violence.
Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider the PKK, which has been at odds with the Ankara government for 35 years, as a terrorist group.
Turkey says PKK militants are responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 Turkish citizens, including women and children.
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NATO must hold Macron accountable
“We know who is dealing with him in Libya and Syria,” Erdogan said of his French counterpart.
If the head of a NATO member state (France) says that NATO has suffered “brain death”, NATO should hold him accountable for this statement.
Emmanuel Macron has long criticized the lack of US-European NATO coordination and Turkey’s unilateral approach to Syria as signs of turmoil, saying: “What we are experiencing now is nothing but ‘mental death not NATO’.”
Good news on Friday
Erdogan also announced that he will give good news next Friday regarding oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea.
