By Janet Ekstract
İSTANBUL (GOLDENHORN AGENCY) – Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Joe Biden are in Belgium for an extraordinary NATO summit on Thursday. It is expected that Biden will discuss further sanctions on Russia and that Erdogan will report on Turkey’s diplomatic efforts in talks with both Ukraine and Russian officials. Erdogan has been in direct contact with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The White House said that Biden will reaffirm U.S. solidarity with NATO allies and discuss deterrence against Russia. The U.S. president will also participate in a pre-scheduled meeting of the European Council and meet with leaders of the G7 group of industrial nations. The White House added that in those meetings, Biden “hopes to achieve continued coordination and a unified response,” on sanctions and other actions against Russia. Biden’s priority is to work in sync with Europe on its sanctions and has held back sanctions on Russian energy to show unity with Europe.
Topics expected to be discussed at the summit include announcements on new sanctions against Russia, humanitarian assistance and more military assistance to Ukraine. Sources commented that leaders would like to see an end to the conflict immediately and will propose a way forward toward that end. Zelensky is scheduled via video link to speak to NATO leaders about Ukraine’s needs and current position. On Tuesday, via video link Zelensky said despite Russia promising to honor humanitarian corridors, Russian soldiers kidnapped relief workers. New sanctions on Russia are expected to include tightening existing sanctions to “crack down on evasion and ensure robust enforcement,” U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday. Sullivan added that new sanctions will focus on preventing other countries from assisting Russia to get around previous sanctions.
Sullivan said Biden will announce “joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.” He will also speak with NATO leaders about longer-term adjustments to NATO forces on the eastern flank especially in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Sullivan added. Biden will also announce further contributions to assist Ukrainians who have fled and became displaced. On Friday, Biden will visit Poland to meet with Polish President Andrezj Duda as well as American troops deployed due to the invasion of Ukraine and humanitarian experts. Biden said the one thing Putin thought he could do was to divide NATO but he did not succeed.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Erdogan will also be in attendance at the summit and on Wednesday Turkey’s National Security Council (Turkish Milli Guvenlik Kurulu, MGK) issued a statement after its discussion on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It stated that additional efforts are necessary to resolve issues between the two countries and that Turkey will continue to work for stability in the Black Sea region. The statement read: “Turkiye will continue its mediation and facilitation efforts besides implementing the Montreux Convention to maintain peace and stability in the Black Sea.” The statement further highlighted that Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected in any permanent peace agreement. It added that Turkey has demonstrated that it was correct in maintaining its balanced position and efforts for global peace and stability in the region.
