President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered the questions of reporters and commented on the recent developments on his return flight from a visit to Belgium.
Commenting on his visit to Belgium, Erdoğan noted the following:
“We have initiated a comprehensive diplomacy traffic after the incidents in Idlib and the refugee crisis took on a new dimension. Following an intensive phone diplomacy, President of the European Council Charles Michel and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov visited Turkey. We then went to Moscow to secure a temporary ceasefire in Idlib and we ensured a temporary ceasefire.
Today, we came to Brussels to address both the situation in Idlib and the refugee issue. The problem, however, is not limited to these two topics in our view. Therefore, we made extensive preparations. We discussed the security threats faced by Turkey with both NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. We held talks about ways to strengthen our relations with NATO and the EU. We have told our counterparts that both NATO and the EU have duties to assume in this regard. We called for an emergency meeting of NATO on February 28 and we officially conveyed our requests. We expect a positive outcome from the NATO meeting to be held on Wednesday, March 11.
In our meeting with EU Presidents, I told them that the Turkey-EU relations should be addressed from a broad perspective. In this context, we have highlighted issues related to the review and update of Turkey-EU deal dated March 18, 2016, the renewal of the Customs Union Agreement, the solution of the Schengen issue, revival of the negotiations and the opening of new chapters, the rapid transfer of the fund amounting to 6 billion Euros (3+3) pledged for the refugees and the extension of additional funds. EU Presidents accepted that Turkey has fulfilled its obligations under the 18 March deal and that the EU has acted slowly. Joint efforts will be made to speed up this process, and technical and political teams will draw up a road map. This process will be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on behalf of Turkey and High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell on behalf of the EU. We expect these efforts to yield their first fruits until the EU Leaders’ Summit on March 26. To achieve this, obviously the EU side should act quickly. EU Presidents have the will to this end. I hope that the member states will support this process, too.
One of the root causes of the problems is the inability to effectively use the channels of dialogue between us. The steps to be taken in this direction will accelerate the process. Europe should see the big picture. We need solidarity and cooperation in all fields from energy to the fight against terrorism, and from migration and the refugee crisis to security. If we move in harmony, both Turkey and the EU will become stronger and safer. In this sense, Idlib, Syria and the refugee crisis are a test of will and leadership to the EU rather than to us. In a period when we paid heavy costs, secured a ceasefire and took the civilians under protection in Idlib, the EU should pull its own weight. Putting the ceasefire into effect in Idlib and offering a lasting solution to the refugee issue is in everyone’s interest. After all, we can initiate a new process with the EU. We have taken many steps to this end and we will continue to take further steps. Provided that the EU displays such determination and political vision, it will be possible to make headway.”
NİSA EFENDİOĞLU: Some EU countries have made decisions regarding the admission of asylum-seeking children into their countries. For example, Germany stated that around 1,000 and 1,500 destitute children under the age of 14, especially the girls in Greece and the Greek islands will be admitted into their country. What do you think about it? First of all, what would you like to say about this decision and particularly the figure? Why do you think only the destitute children are chosen? Is the idea of assimilation policy likely to lie behind this? In 2016, it turned out that nearly 10,000 refugee children were lost in Germany. A similar situation is also experienced by Turkish and immigrant children in Germany. This situation raises doubts. Do you think there are other intentions in the background?
This is not a new issue. Unfortunately, this is a process intensively ongoing in Germany. But we do not know the details about this implementation at the moment. Actually, we were going to take a step for Friday. Both Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Macron were going to come to Istanbul. Even Boris Johnson was going to come. But, these did not take place. As local elections are scheduled for Sunday in France, we will hold this meeting on Tuesday next week and we will meet in Istanbul on Tuesday. If Boris Johnson can come, this summit will be a quadripartite; otherwise, it will be a tripartite summit. We will have a chance to discuss this issue you mentioned with Chancellor Merkel there.
BATUHAN YAŞAR: Until when will Turkey continue the open-door policy? As part of agreements with the EU, it has always been like distraction and time saving. Will there be a new readmission agreement with the EU? What kind of a concrete step Turkey wants to see to close its borders?
I hope that the same situation will not appear. We clearly told them all this evening. Mr. Charles Michel and Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen were together in pairs. We conducted quadripartite work with Mr. Çavuşoğlu and after completing that work, we said, “Look, our country has made an official application to the European Union and waiting at its door since 1963. As they deem it proper for Turkey, Croatia is currently chairing the presidency, just have a look at from whence it came and to where it returned. They all became presidents; we are currently in negotiation all the time. We are in such a situation. What is the reason of this? It means applying double standards against a country like Turkey. Let me say something plain and clear, if you think about something really different, say it. Let us carry out in good faith the negotiation made between us this evening and eliminate the issues that break the chain without losing time. Look, I'm assigning my Minister of Foreign Affairs. He will have several experts with him, and you can assign anyone you want on these matters.” I also said this to Borrell. “Let us start this work and yield its results by the end of the year,” we said. They found it favourable, and there will be a summit on March 26. I hope that our colleagues will make some progress until the summit and these issues will be discussed in detail at the summit.
ŞEBNEM BURSALI: Merkel, whose stance has been close to Turkey’s theses on the refugee issue so far, said, “Turkey cannot expect our sympathy if they try to solve their problems by using refugees.” Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis also said, “If Mr. Erdoğan wants Turkey- EU relations to be reviewed, he must take back the helpless people crowded at the border and accept the refugees we have arrested.” What is your comment on these two statements? You have also called on Greece to open its doors. What would you like to add to that?
I don’t know what Merkel meant with that or under which circumstances she said that. However, as she has agreed to have such a meeting with us, there must be some other concerns behind it. We will talk about that when we meet her on Tuesday. We will ask her what she meant by that.
When it comes to Greece … First of all, Greece does not know international law. Unfortunately, Mr. Mitsotakis has fallen further behind on that. He needs to learn about international law first. He needs to read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They need to know that the stand they take on the border line is murder. They killed 4-5 refugees at the border. We will call them to account for these people. We will not leave it there. Similarly, we will expose the pictures of all these people they made to undress completely naked at the session of the General Assembly of the United Nations this year.
On top of that, they are building razor wires along all their borders. However, we are not thinking about closing these doors anymore. My proposal to Greece is that they open their doors. These people will not stay in Greece. Let them transit through Greece to other countries of Europe. You cannot let them pass by and then you make Turkey pay the price for it. We are talking about fair and humane sharing. You lay the entire burden on Turkey when it comes to burden sharing, but you will not provide support when it comes to support! Excuse us but we will do what it takes only if the European Union keeps the promises they have given us. What could this be? 2 for them and 2 for us, 1 for them and 1 for us. We have said fair and humane sharing. We will do these. However, they give everything to Latin American countries, to the Balkans, to Ukraine, but they still do not lift the visa requirement for a country like Turkey, unfortunately.
NUR ÖZKAN ERBAY: Concerning the latest situation in Syria, there are reports that the Assad regime has violated the ceasefire. Turkey’s stance on that is clear. What kind of deterrent elements will be used after that in parallel with the situation on the ground? During the meeting you had today, was it raised to deploy a Patriot battery in Turkey?
The Patriots of Spain deployed in Turkey are currently the package assigned by NATO for us. This was brought into question. Nevertheless, an additional package was not mentioned. Stoltenberg's view on S-400 is also clear: “It is our members' own choice. We don’t and can't put pressure on them as to their decisions on this and that.” But as you know, concerning the Patriots, we made the following proposal to the US: “If you are going to give them, give us the Patriots, and we will buy Patriots from you.” But, of course, they have eased off on the S-400 issue to a great extent and now they say, “Promise us not to put the S-400s into use.”
DİCLE CANOVA: Will the EU and the US support Turkey’s proposal on establishing settlements within the safe zone in northern Syria and the resettlement of migrants? You have previously criticized them for not shouldering responsibility. Has the situation changed in this new process?
The safe zone is different. The safe zone as a result of our conversations with both Obama and Trump... Obama did not fulfill this, but Trump spoke about it many times. Although Trump has mentioned that, he has not and could not take the related step, unfortunately. He even exaggerated and said that he would withdraw his troops. There was a movement, but it didn't work. During our phone conversation last week, "I will not keep my troops here anymore, I do not want to spend excessively and I will withdraw my troops," he said. Now we are waiting. This is the last message he gave us. Of course, this is very important to us: Qamishli has oil reserves and Deir ez-Zor is another place with oil reserves. The terrorists exploit the resources there. The US has a plan over here. Putin also has a plan over Qamishli. I made the following proposal to Mr. Putin; "With the help of the oil from here, we would carry out the contracting aspect of the work, and if you support it financially, let's reconstruct this demolished Syria." "It is possible," Putin said. If such a step was taken here, I could even make the same proposal to Trump. Instead of allowing terrorists to exploit the oil reserves – because the oil they drill out is not processed oil and it has no quality, but if it is taken and processed – we would have a chance to reconstruct Syria with this opportunity. This would reveal who wants to maintain the unity and integrity of Syria and who wants to take control of it.
HACI YAKIŞIKLI: Coronavirus affected the EU and intercity transitions were banned in Italy. Now, it seems Turkey is one of the most reliable countries. What is the impact of health investments on this? In addition, is an increase in tourism expected?
As of today, the total number of cases related to coronavirus has reached 114,456, and the death toll climbed to 4,027 worldwide. So we are talking about a global epidemic, a global public health problem. Thank God, there are no coronavirus cases detected in our country so far. As soon as the epidemic became evident, we implemented all our measures resolutely and without hesitation at an early stage. The fact that this epidemic, currently in 114 countries, is not observed in Turkey reveals that the measures we have taken are very appropriate. We will continue to implement the measures we have identified strictly and exactly along with all our institutions, especially with our Ministry of Health. Of course, the individual measures to be taken at this point are also of great importance.
We have carried out our infrastructure and preliminary preparations against coronavirus at the highest level. In this regard, our health facilities are unquestionable. We have also preliminary preparations for this. We are good at supplying all equipment for coronavirus. We are also currently capable of producing all of these materials in our country. But unfortunately, there are also immoralities. They turn this into an opportunity, trying to sell them at high prices, whether in exports or in the domestic market. Our Interior Ministry has definite precautions regarding the masks. Similarly, there are measures taken by our Ministry of Trade. Above all, the work conducted by our health facilities at this point is advanced. Our city hospitals, state hospitals, education and research hospitals take precautions in a way to perform immediate interventions in all of them.
Concerning tourism, our Minister of Culture and Tourism is able to observe the international basis well at this point. Developments are very important until July. God willing, there will be recovery in June and July in this regard and we will rise rapidly, because our infrastructure is very suitable for this.
ÖZLEM YURT: The coronavirus leads to a global economic crisis as well. Oil prices also fell at a record level. In this context, how do you consider the decrease in oil prices in the scope of the Russian/Saudi Arabia dispute? How Turkey would be affected by the crisis in economic terms, and would the oil prices decrease in Turkey?
The barrel price of Brent crude decreased by 30 percent and fell to 31 US dollars. This is a particular disaster for OPEC countries. In a sense, it is a very positive situation for us. This development positively affects our current deficit. Could this be a recession? We hope that it will not happen, because both our Ministry of Treasury and Finance and our Ministry of Trade have taken all measures in this regard. This development shows that we are currently managing this process in a positive direction. Already with a decrease in interest rates, business is expanding in a different direction. As a result, there is activation in investments. Such activation has created an increase in employment as well. These are of great importance to us. Let me announce the good news here. As of tonight, we will implement a discount of 60 kurus in petroleum and another discount of 55 kurus in diesel oil.
AHMET HAKAN COŞKUN: What would you like to say about the allegations made by the Russian media that we had to wait for Putin? Do the Russian media damage the Turkish-Russian relations?
Unfortunately, such impulsive examples can be found in the media of every country. However, the Turkish-Russian relations cannot be made a victim of these kinds of mediatic manipulation. Our friends met with all their counterparts regarding the issue. They stated that it was certainly not deliberate and that they were substantially disturbed by the attitude. Actually, the efforts exerted by some people to divert attention to different points through manipulations even regarding a routine process show the bad intention here. As a matter of fact, Putin's office, where we would pose for the media, was at one end and we came from the other end. We met in the middle after walking towards the same spot from our respective spots at the same time. Some people try to make malicious implications from this issue. Mr. Putin saw us off until we reached the car. Of course, when the intention is bad, they don't write and show this.