Expressing that bilateral meetings and meetings between delegations had been completed successfully in Algeria, the first pillar of his Africa tour, Erdoğan indicated that they had discussed all aspects of bilateral relations with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Erdoğan said Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation dated 2006 had been upgraded to the level of High Level Strategic Council, indicating that this mechanism would provide the chance to strengthen relations in the fields of economy, trade, defence industry, security, infrastructure, tourism as well as other areas.
Erdoğan indicated that it was decided to hold the Joint Economic Commission Meeting as soon as possible, and he also expressed that Tebboune would pay a return visit to Turkey upon his invitation. Erdoğan said, "This invitation will also be the first step towards our High Level Strategic Council meeting. It will turn a new page in our bilateral relations.”
"Ceasefire must be implemented immediately"
President Erdoğan stated that Turkey and Algeria would be in close cooperation on regional issues and they would continue to take joint action on Libya in this framework. He also noted the following:
"Algeria is the most important neighbour of Libya and could play important roles in the political process. The roadmap for settling the Libyan issue is now clear. Under the umbrella of the UN and the leadership of internationally legitimate government, the ceasefire must be implemented immediately and the political process needs to move forward. Government of National Accord (GNA) has abided by all decisions taken so far. Haftar, who fled Moscow and Berlin, continues to violate the ceasefire. If there will be peace in Libya, Haftar must be stopped. Meanwhile, Haftar’s spokesperson Mismari made a statement yesterday, expressing that they did not go to Berlin and Moscow for agreement or solution, this is a very very important point, but to ‘explain their rightful case’ and said that ‘the solution is at the muzzle of a gun’. This is a statement giving away Haftar’s real purpose and can be considered a confession.”
Speaking about the earthquake that struck Elazığ, Erdoğan said 24 thousand 402 tents, 26 thousand 500 beds, 40 thousand food parcels had been dispatched to the quake-hit area and 50 food packets are delivered daily. He also told ministers and representatives of relevant institutions were in the region and public institutions returned to their normal work.
Erdoğan told Turkey went into an important partnership with Algeria in Ceyhan Industrial Zone as part of economic relations and that Sonatra and Ronesans Holding inked an investment agreement of 1.2 billion dollars, saying, "Ceyhan Propane Corporation and Sonatra, which has an Algerian partner with a share of 34 percent, will continue their partnership by procuring propane gas from Algeria for 17 years. This investment will surely have a positive effect on our current deficit. The facility will be completed as soon as possible.”
Erdoğan was reminded that Putschist General Haftar and his entourage made a statement indicating that there was no other solution in Libya than the use of weapons and was asked: “What will be the course of Turkey’s diplomacy focusing on ceasefire and keeping political process alive? Are we going in a direction where we will speak the language Haftar understands?” Erdoğan pointed to the map and said the band between Libya and Turkey was a result of the Memorandum of Understanding.”
President Erdoğan said, “As you can see the G-F-E and D on the sea side are the Turkish Area of Jurisdiction that was agreed upon and notified to the UN. We will be able to do drilling work here, and this is, in a manner, the result of our steps towards continental shelf. Unfortunately, Haftar is currently making very nasty attempts and we are closely following them. We will continue to do what is necessary until the very end. Haftar is currently like Libya’s desert landlord – having control over the desert areas yet lacking it in the populated areas.”
Erdoğan noted that, during her visit to Turkey last week, they addressed these issues at length with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and stated the following:
“We told them very clearly and frankly that they are focusing on the wrong side. Haftar is a liar and you are paving the way for this liar to be pampered. Egypt and the administration in Abu Dhabi are Haftar’s biggest supporters while Russia is there through Wagner. The Abu Dhabi administration is providing financial support to Wagner, a very significant financial support, and giving them arms and ammunition. Purchasing arms is not a problem because they have money. It doesn’t matter from which country it comes. Despite all this support, Haftar’s plans went wrong. The stance adopted by the Government of National Accord (GNA) was crucial at this point. It is essential that GNA Chairman Sarraj to be leading all his forces.
Sarraj gave an important test in Moscow and he came. He also came to Berlin and was ready to come to terms, while the other one fled. The same tricks are now being played at UNSC. We also discussed this with Guterres. We will be following closely in the forthcoming period. I believe that with each day the process will develop in favour of the Sarraj administration. For example, there was an attempt of Haftar yesterday, to seize a district that was immediately taken back. But the most important issue is Sirte. When it is taken back, they will not have much power. They are interested in Misrata, but they did not get the result they wanted despite the siege. At the moment Tripoli is under siege. Currently, the GNA is putting up necessary resistance in Tripoli. I hope that they will not be given such an opportunity.”
“EU acts inconsistently”
Answering a question on whether Turkey has planned a cultural breakthrough in Africa, President Erdoğan reminded that Turkey had institutions such as TIKA, Yunus Emre Cultural Centre and Turkish Maarif Foundation all over the world and not just in Africa, saying “As you know, wherever FETO has a school in the world, - of which we are already present in 160 countries that they announced in the first place- we have reached these countries with our Maarif Foundation, we are there and we will continue to be there.”
Erdoğan stressed that the Turkey Scholarship program served as a major cultural program for both Africa and Turkey, and noted that they would also launch a program for the development of cultural activities in Algeria.
Erdoğan was reminded of Merkel's visit to Turkey and was asked: "Is the revival of relations that have come to an ending point in terms of the ties between Turkey and the EU on the agenda? Has the visa liberalization that everybody is curious about reached a solution? When will the quadripartite summit be held?" President Erdoğan answered the question as follows:
"The EU acts totally inconsistently. In other words, they show goodwill on one hand, they have the same stance on the other. Now, it is not just about visa liberalization. It was supposed to be concluded at the end of 2014, we did everything, but they are trying to corner us, saying, 'you have not done this, you have not done that.' As you know, the same thing also applies for the Customs Union. There are some different topics. I personally got tired of answering them, but they are not tired of cornering us, they constantly produce something.
President Erdoğan stated that the quadripartite summit was scheduled for February, but that it may be postponed to March.
In reply to the questions, ‘What does Russia want in Libya? The bloodshed does not stop in Idlib. Even if Turkey is involved, Assad moves along with Russia. Isn’t there some kind of distrust for Russia? What does Russia want to do?’ Erdogan stressed that it was not the right move for Russia to enter Libya with Wagner.
“There are about 2,500 legionaries. There is more, not less, but who pays for it? Abu Dhabi pays for it. In fact, Haftar is also a paid legionnaire," said Erdoğan, adding:
“They work in cooperation; all weapons, ammunition, equipment and so on are purchased from certain countries. Egypt also gives substantial support. Considering the Eastern Mediterranean, as is known, our country has the longest coastline. This band is exactly the band in our bilateral MoU. Turkey is located on its north and Libya on the south and we have signed it. After signing this document, we are not supposed to ask anyone what they wish for. We have signed it with Sarraj here, and the work is done. In other words, this is not like some agreement with Haftar, because Sarraj is the ‘state’, which is acknowledged by the UNSC and regarded as the ‘state’ by me. The other one is the putschist, which has no identity as a state. Unfortunately, some people are trying to gather something through Hafter, that's what they do. I hope we will not give them this opportunity."
"How can we swallow the mainland"
In reply to the question, “What would you say about possible risks in relations with Greece?” Erdoğan made the following comment:
"Germany is simply Greece’s affection. One of the former mayors is a common friend of us and Greece. ‘If you want a message from me, tell the Greek side that it should not get at us. We do not have such issues as getting at Greece.’ As I said during a NATO meeting to (Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos) Mitsotakis, ‘Let’s not get at each other, in that case, we would never harm you.’ Concerning Libya, ‘What are you doing with Libya? Where is Greece, where is Libya? Besides, the coastlines should see each other when it comes to the continental shelves. Now they are telling us, ‘We consider Crete as our mainland.’ If they considered it the ‘foster-land,’ we would swallow it, but how can we swallow the mainland?”