Turkiye Backs Ukraine's NATO Aspirations, Biden Says Members Not On Same Page Over Timing
Turkiye backed Ukraine for NATO membership in the recently held meeting between the presidents of the two countries. However, the US says there was no 'unanimity' on the timing of the same.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and gained the crucial backing for its NATO aspirations, reported The Guardian. However, US President Joe Biden cautioned on the timing and said he did not think there was “unanimity” among alliance members that it should join during Russia’s invasion, the report stated. As the war entered its 500th day on Saturday, Zelenskyy hailed progress from talks in Istanbul with Erdoğan.
As per The Guardian, he said: “I am grateful to Turkey for its constant support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. I believe that, together, we can do even more, saving lives and protecting stability.”
Türkiye 🇺🇦🇹🇷.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 7, 2023
Meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan @RTErdogan. Very important negotiations.
Security – both in our Black Sea region and Europe in general. I am grateful for the support of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. Peace Formula. Protection of our… pic.twitter.com/FfsniYKZ7q
He added that military production agreements had been signed, including for the manufacturing of drones, and that he “invited Turkey to join the large-scale work to rebuild Ukraine, its reconstruction, and transformation”.
Notably, Kremlin kept a close watch over Zelenskyy’s talks in Turkey. Russia has tried to break its international isolation by cultivating strong relations with Erdoğan, who still opposes Nato membership for Sweden, the report mentioned.
Meanwhile, while reaffirming his longstanding call for peace negotiations, Erdoğan told reporters at a joint media appearance with Zelenskiy in Istanbul: “There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of Nato.”
However, US President Joe Biden highlighted a key factor in terms of the timing of membership. In an interview with CNN on Friday, he said: “I don’t think there is unanimity in Nato about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the Nato family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war… If the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case,” The Guardian stated in its report.
Erdoğan assured that he would personally brief Vladimir Putin on the latest negotiations when the Russian president visits Turkey next month, his first trip there since the invasion. As per The Guardian, the Turkish leader said he would discuss possible prisoner swap with Putin, and the Black Sea grain deal that has allowed Ukraine to export grain via that route. The deal will expire on 17 July unless Russia agrees to its renewal.
All eyes now remain on a key summit in Vilnius next week where NATO leaders will publicly recommit to Ukraine becoming a member of the military alliance and unite on how to bring Kyiv closer to this goal, the report added.
“For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe,” Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, told reporters in a news conference in Brussels on Friday previewing the gathering. “Our summit will send a clear message: Nato stands united, and Russia’s aggression will not pay.”
Zelenskiy has been pushing hard for Nato membership in the run-up to Vilnius, something the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said would come in the “not too distant future”, but not at the summit in the Lithuanian capital, The Guardian stated. Kyiv “still has further steps that it needs to take before membership”, Sullivan said.
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