2023-05-29 02:09:59
NOh he Re-election of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the chairman of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber, spoke out in favor of ending the EU accession process with Turkey. “The last few years have shown that a close partnership is important, but that nobody wants full membership of Turkey in the EU anymore – neither Turkey nor the EU,” the CSU politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “We have to put this process aside because it blocks better relationships more than it supports it.”
The expectations after Erdogan’s election victory are clear, said Weber. “We need cooperation, especially when it comes to the goal of peace between Ukraine and Russia, migration policy, economic modernization and the Cyprus question. Erdogan should now immediately agree to Sweden’s membership in NATO.”
Turkey has EU candidate status, but accession talks have been on hold for several years.
Selenskyj hopes for further cooperation
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy congratulated Erdogan on his election victory. He is counting on further cooperation in the bilateral area and on strengthening Europe’s security. Turkey offered itself as a mediator during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ankara has managed to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kiev. The war opponents Russia and Ukraine concluded a grain agreement last summer, also with Turkish mediation. This provides for an end to the Russian blockade of Ukrainian seaports for the resumption of grain exports, which are important for the stability of international food prices.
Congratulations from Washington to the NATO partner
American President Joe Biden added his congratulations on Twitter: “I look forward to continuing to work together as a NATO ally on bilateral issues and common global challenges.” He did not address the recent tensions in bilateral relations.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Turkey as a “valued NATO ally and partner”. He is looking forward to further cooperation “with the government elected by the Turkish people,” said Blinken. He also referred to the high turnout and the “long democratic tradition” in Turkey.
Relations between Ankara and Washington have been repeatedly put to the test in recent years. Points of conflict were Ankara’s tough crackdown on critics, military actions in Syria, Erdogan’s close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin even during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Ankara’s protest against Sweden’s accession to NATO.
Congratulations to NATO and the EU
“Congratulations on your re-election, President,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter. He looks forward to continuing cooperation and preparing for the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, Stoltenberg added. Sweden’s entry into the alliance is on the summit’s agenda.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel also congratulated Erdogan on the election victory and said they were looking forward to further developing relations between the EU and Turkey. It is of “strategic importance for both the EU and Turkey to work on expanding this relationship for the benefit of our peoples,” von der Leyen added. Relations between Ankara and Brussels are difficult, but Turkey is an indispensable partner when it comes to migration.
Özil: “Thank God”
Former German soccer world champion Mesut Özil once again showed himself to Erdogan. Özil shared a photo on Instagram on Sunday evening in which he was standing in front of the Turkish President’s plane. President’s wife Emine Erdogan is also there. Özil wrote “Thank God” and posted a heart and a Turkish flag. Even before the vote, Özil had shared a picture with Erdogan and called for the presidential election.
With his noisy resignation from the national team after the preliminary round at the 2018 World Cup, Özil had massively criticized the top of the German Football Association. Before the finals, the Gelsenkirchen native had been criticized for his photos with the Turkish head of state Erdogan. The 92-time German international, who was last active in Turkey with Basaksehir Istanbul, officially ended his career almost two months ago.
According to preliminary results, the 69-year-old Islamic conservative incumbent received a good 52 percent of the votes, his social democratic challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu almost 48 percent. It was the first run-off election in Turkey’s history. In the first round of voting, Erdogan was almost five percentage points ahead of Kilicdaroglu and only just missed an absolute majority.
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