Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun answered the questions of the Austria-based APA news agency, saying, "After the 2023 elections, Türkiye will also maintain its foreign policy centred on its interests and rising profile under the strong leadership of our President."
When asked about the grain deal mediated by Türkiye, Director of Communications Altun said, "A global food crisis was avoided thanks to the grain deal. The mechanism established has worked flawlessly so far. This encourages us to pursue more comprehensive initiatives."
Noting that the internal disturbances in Iraq and Syria are seriously affecting Türkiye and the entire region, Director of Communications Altun stated that they do not wish for a similar situation to develop in the Black Sea.
Director of Communications Altun stated that they are willing to seek a diplomatic and peaceful resolution between Ukraine and Russia, with whom they have strong ties.
When asked how a ceasefire may be achieved in Ukraine, Director of Communications Altun said:
"Unfortunately, there are some actors who believe that prolonging the war in Ukraine as long as possible would serve their own interests. Among them are some of our NATO allies. We oppose the idea of making the Ukrainian people pay for these states' achieving their own geopolitical objectives. On the contrary, we believe a fair peace is the best solution. Türkiye believes that discussing Ukraine's independence and sovereignty would be detrimental to the region and the world."
When asked whether Türkiye received a satisfactory response to the request for the extradition of terrorists, recalling the NATO membership process for Finland and Sweden, Director of Communications Altun stated that Finland and Sweden made some commitments regarding the extradition of terrorists as a result of the trilateral memorandum signed in Madrid.
Declaring that they are now waiting to see whether these commitments will be kept, Director of Communications Altun said, "Our sole goal in this is to assess if these two states, which we will commit to protect in case of an attack if they join NATO, adopt a sincere attitude towards Türkiye's security."
"It will not be surprising if the negotiations regain momentum"
When asked, "What significance does the deadlock in the EU membership talks have for Türkiye? What kind of relationship does Türkiye intend to build with the EU?" Director of Communications Altun said that EU membership is a strategic goal for Türkiye.
In this respect, underlining that the relationship Türkiye wants to establish with the EU can only be full membership, Director of Communications Altun stated that both Türkiye and the EU would profit from Türkiye's membership in the EU.
Director of Communications Altun remarked, "If the EU wants to play an active role in the international arena, it must admit Türkiye as a member. Despite everything, the global state of affairs brings Türkiye and the EU closer together. All else being equal, it will not be surprising if the negotiations regain momentum."
"We never turn down the hand of friendship extended to us"
Recalled that the relations between Türkiye and Austria have been strained for a long time due to Vienna's opposition to Türkiye's EU membership, when asked how good relations can be secured between the two countries, Director of Communications Altun said, "We never turn down the hand of friendship extended to us. I think that the changes in Austria also contributed to this softening process. I must also express that Mr Nehammer has assumed a very constructive role in this regard. I hope that our relations will become stronger from now on."
Pointing out that there was serious disinformation about Türkiye, particularly in Europe, Director of Communications Altun said, "The last example of this in Austria was experienced when a person named Kenan Doğan Güngör made some claims on social media. Although our ambassador in Vienna made a very clear statement on this matter, we are surprised that this person's baseless allegations are still a topic of discussion."
"Türkiye will maintain its foreign policy centred around its own interests"
When asked about Türkiye's foreign policy approach after the elections, Director of Communications Altun said, "Hopefully, after the 2023 elections, Türkiye will maintain its foreign policy centred on its interests and rising profile under the strong leadership of our President."
Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun added that there is no doubt that Türkiye will overcome its current issues under the strong leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.