Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that it is not possible to talk about a timetable for how long the Russian-Ukrainian war will last, and that only the Russian and Ukrainian leaders can determine that.
Erdogan said in an interview with the American channel “PBS” in New York City, which he is visiting to participate in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly: “It will not be possible to talk about a timetable for how long the war in Ukraine will last, and when it will end.
He added: “Only two leaders can determine how long the war will last.”
In response to a question about his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the Ukrainian war, Erdogan stressed that it is clear that the war will continue for a long time and will not end soon.
He said: “We want to be optimistic, and Putin supports ending this war as soon as possible. I am saying this based on his words, and this is what he said and I trust his words.”
Regarding Sweden’s accession to NATO, the Turkish President stressed the need for Sweden to fulfill its promises regarding terrorism.
“We still see terrorists running around and having fun in the streets of Stockholm,” Erdogan said.
He stated that the Turkish Parliament has the say in evaluating and deciding on Sweden’s proposal to join NATO.
He added, “This is part of Parliament’s agenda, as the latter will evaluate the situation within the framework of its own assessment, and this proposal will be presented to the representatives to vote on.”
The Turkish President continued by saying: “For this to happen, of course Sweden must fulfill its promises. They must immediately stop the demonstrations of terrorist organizations and their activities in the streets of Stockholm, because it will be very important for the Turkish people to see this actually happen. It seems that Sweden has made a change to the legislation, but this is not enough.”
Regarding the presence of Syrian refugees in Turkey, Erdogan stressed that Turkey will continue to host refugees in addition to providing support and care for them, and will work to guarantee their rights and well-being.
He explained that his vision towards Syrian refugees is completely different from that of the opposition parties, noting that the opposition parties’ view towards refugees is woefully lacking in mercy.
He pointed out that the opposition parties had issued threats during their election campaign to deport refugees if they won the elections.
Turkey is considered one of the countries that host a large number of refugees, as there are more than 3.6 million refugees in the country, most of them from Syria. Turkey has opened its doors to refugees since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency