Turkey would do well not to have illusions that it will be allowed to join the European Union one day, the Kremlin said on 11 July, while Moscow expressed its desire to strengthen relations with Ankara despite disagreements, including NATO expansion.<\/p>\n
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to questions regarding Turkey\u2019s decision to support Sweden\u2019s accession to NATO, a day before the alliance\u2019s two-day summit in Vilnius.<\/p>\n
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan has aimed to maintain good relations with both Moscow and Kiev during the war in Ukraine. He has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia due to the occupation of Ukraine and has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Turkey in August.<\/p>\n
Turkey had blocked Sweden\u2019s accession, accusing the Nordic state of not doing enough to suppress individuals that Ankara considers terrorists. However, on Monday, Erdo\u011fan withdrew his objections, allowing Sweden to become the 32nd<\/sup> member of NATO.<\/p>\n Russia sees NATO\u2019s expansion as a threat to its security, but Peskov downplayed suggestions that Turkey was moving away from Russia and approaching the West.<\/p>\n \u201cTurkey can orient itself towards the West. We know that in the history of the Republic of Turkey, there have been periods of intensive orientation towards the West, and there have been less intensive periods,\u201d he said during a press conference.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we also know that nobody wants to see Turkey in Europe, and I\u2019m talking about Europeans. Our Turkish partners should not dwell in illusions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He alluded to the European Union\u2019s reluctant stance in accepting Turkey, which applied for membership in the bloc in 1987 for the first time.<\/p>\n Erdo\u011fan said on Monday that the EU should pave the way for the resumption of accession talks with his country in exchange for lifting the Turkish blockade on Sweden\u2019s NATO membership.<\/p>\n Peskov said that Russia understands that Turkey has fulfilled its obligations as a NATO member regarding the Swedish issue but added that Moscow wishes to continue building better bilateral relations with Ankara, despite \u201call disagreements\u201d.<\/p>\n The Kremlin is seeking to establish a new center in Turkey for the export of Russian gas, as Moscow has changed its gas transportation routes due to Europe significantly reducing its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the occupation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Turkey would do well not to have illusions that it will be allowed to join the European Union one day, the Kremlin said on 11 July, while Moscow expressed its desire to strengthen relations with Ankara despite disagreements, including NATO expansion. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to questions regarding Turkey\u2019s decision to support Sweden\u2019s accession […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":52536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165],"tags":[3347,1304,308,2487,243,151,791,2488,284,1268,1212],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n