“We have elevated the Türkiye-Slovakia relations to the strategic partnership level”

 

Addressing a joint press conference with Slovakian Prime Minister Fico, President Erdoğan said: “During today’s talks, we have discussed steps to further deepen our bilateral relations. With the joint declaration we have just signed, we have elevated our relations to the level of strategic partnership. Also, various documents have been signed on forging cooperation between our ministries and committees in areas such as military, defense industry and culture.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia held a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Complex.

“OUR TRADE VOLUME HAS REACHED THE LEVEL OF 3 BILLION DOLLARS”

President Erdoğan said: “During today’s talks, we have discussed steps to further deepen our bilateral relations. With the joint declaration we have just signed, we have elevated our relations to the level of strategic partnership. I hope this partnership will be auspicious. Also, various documents have been signed on forging cooperation between our ministries and committees in areas such as military, defense industry and culture. I believe that these documents will strengthen our cooperation and expand our relations.”

President Erdoğan stated: “We have made significant progress in our trade and business relations with Slovakia in the recent period. Our trade volume, which stood at approximately 1 billion dollars in 2019, has reached the level of 3 billion dollars over the past 4-5 years. This trajectory shows that we will inshallah surpass 5 billion dollars soon, our shared target. The works of the Joint Committee on Economy and Trade, whose first meeting we will host this year, will help us achieve this target.”   

“WE WILL STRENGTHEN OUR DEFENSE INDUSTRY COOPERATION THROUGH CONCRETE PROJECTS”

“As you know, we have covered important distance in defense industry in recent years. Strengthening the defense industry cooperation between Türkiye and Slovakia, two friendly NATO allies, through concrete projects has been one of the topics addressed during today’s talks,” President Erdoğan noted.

President Erdoğan added: “With my treasured friend, we have also discussed the Türkiye-EU relations as well as current regional and global issues today. I wholeheartedly believe that Slovakia will increasingly continue its support in order for us to achieve our goal of full membership to the EU.”

“We have also exchanged our assessments on the war in Ukraine, which already affects Europe in its entirety. As you know, Slovakia is in contact with both Russia and Ukraine. We have a consensus on the importance of reaching a just and lasting peace before the war further affects our neighboring region,” President Erdoğan stated.

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE PROCESS UNTIL AN INDEPENDENT AND SOVEREIGN STATE OF PALESTINE IS ESTABLISHED”

President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “We have also exchanged views on the steps to be taken to establish stability and security in Syria, which is our priority. We have emphasized that removing the international restrictions on Syria from the era of the overthrown regime is essential for initiating reconstruction efforts. We have noted Slovakia’s capabilities to contribute to reconstruction efforts both at the bilateral level and within the European Union. It is pleasing that the ceasefire agreement reached between the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas and Israel has come into force as of yesterday despite Israel’s defiance. In the following period, all stages of the agreement must be implemented fully, and uninterrupted humanitarian aid must be delivered to Gaza. The international community must ensure that Israel fulfills its responsibilities on these topics. As Türkiye, we will continue to follow the process until an independent and sovereign State of Palestine with East al-Quds as its capital is established based on the 1967 borders.”

President Erdoğan further stressed: “I would like to point out that I believe our relations with Slovakia and our solidarity at NATO will continue to strengthen based on the strategic partnership we have announced today. I hope the documents we have signed today will lead to favorable developments.”  

“WE COULDN’T RESOLVE THE GRAIN CORRIDOR ISSUE NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRIED”

In response to a question about the Russia-Ukraine war, President Erdoğan said: “The war between Russia and Ukraine has seriously disturbed us. The dispute between the leaders has also seriously troubled us. For instance, we couldn’t resolve the grain corridor issue no matter how hard we tried. We transferred 30 million tons of grain, but we couldn’t go beyond that. Africa asked us for grain but we couldn’t deliver the requested amount to them. It remained limited to 30 million tons. During our talks, both Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy expressed readiness to deliver it; yet, we couldn’t get it. Mr. Putin is particularly against transferring grain to the European Union through the grain corridor. He said he was in favor of giving grain to poor countries. What are these countries? African countries. He said he was ready to give it to them. However, we couldn’t obtain the result we were looking for. My Foreign Minister continues to discuss the issue with his counterparts.”

President Erdoğan went onto say: “Regarding the natural gas issue, given the fact that Ukraine has cut off gas to Slovakia, we think about settling this issue by means of talks between my Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and his counterpart, between my Foreign Minister and Mr. Lavrov, and between me and Mr. Putin. We will inshallah initiate a telephone diplomacy and take a step regarding this issue this week. Mr. Prime Minister informed me about the need, and we will take the necessary step according to this need. I hope it will be auspicious.”

“IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAINTAIN THE SAME FRIENDSHIP WE HAD WITH MR. TRUMP IN THE FIRST TERM”

In answer to a question about the Mr. Trump’s inauguration and the relations between Türkiye and the U.S. in the new term, President Erdoğan said: “Of course, it is very important for us to maintain the same friendship we had in the first term. The day after he won the elections, we had a telephone conversation with him. We also had another telephone conversation with him in this mid-period. We will maintain our contact with him following his inauguration today. He previously said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war and as Türkiye, we are ready to do our part to end the war. I plan to address this issue in my discussions with him. As Türkiye, we are against wars across the world; we favor peace. We want countries to protect their solidarity through peace. Everything is found in peace; nothing is achieved through war. We have to resolve this issue without delay. We will discuss this in detail with Mr. Trump and take our steps accordingly. I hope Mr. Trump’s second term in office will be auspicious for the whole humanity.”