Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, spoke yesterday in Ankara in favor of “reinforcing the dialogue between Turkey and the EU” and expressed his support for the future accession of this country to the European Union through “some clear milestones” that consolidate the process.
“Spain’s voice is always heard in Brussels in favor of closer and reinforcing dialogue with Turkey,” declared Albares during the joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, within the framework of a two-day official trip to Ankara. to address, among other issues, the humanitarian situation and violence in the Gaza Strip and the mediation efforts carried out by the Turkish Government with Russia.
According to Albares, Spain supports Turkey’s accession process to the EU, a process in which, he warned, the effort of “all EU countries” is necessary so that “this path is cleared” and “some milestones are established to consolidating it.” “Turkey, and that is Spain’s wish, has to continue looking towards Europe and its future in Europe,” he added.
For his part, Fidan assured at the press conference that “Spain has been one of the countries that has sincerely supported our accession process to the European Union from the beginning” and reported that, during his interview with Albares, he had “ reiterated that “EU membership remains a strategic objective” for Turkey and, therefore, the accession process “is too important to be left in the hands of the vicious political agendas of some countries.”
Gaza
Regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip. Albares once again demanded “an immediate and permanent ceasefire” and the opening of all border crossings so that humanitarian aid can enter “without conditions” and warned that, “if military operations were extended to Rafah, we would be facing a “A true humanitarian catastrophe and we must all do everything in our power to prevent this from happening.”
During the bilateral meeting, he continued, both had talked about “how peace can return to the Middle East” and warned, in this regard, that “Turkey occupies a special place” in this situation. He also called for the creation of a Palestinian state, because “this is the condition for security, peace and stability to reach the Middle East for Palestinians, Israelis and all countries.”
For his part, Hakan Fidan declared that “Spain is one of the countries of the European Union that, from day one, has adopted a principled position on Gaza and has been on the side of the Palestinian people.” “Spain’s admirable position is also proof that the Palestinian issue is a universal cause above religious and ethnic identities,” added the Turkish minister, who assured that Turkey fully supports the steps taken by Spain in this regard, as the proposal for a peace conference and the future recognition of the Palestinian State.
The trip to Turkey, according to Foreign Affairs, represents the “fourth stage” of the minister’s tour of Middle Eastern countries since the conflict in Gaza began. The first leg took place in the last week of January in Lebanon and Iraq, the second tour took place in early February in three Gulf countries, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the third took place last week in Jordan and Egypt.
Ukraine and the High Level Meeting
On the other hand, Albares praised Turkey’s position in Russia’s war in Ukraine, which “has avoided insecurity and food insecurity in the Black Sea environment during the past year.” “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and appreciate this effort by Turkey,” he added.
During the meeting, bilateral relations were also discussed. In this sense, Albares and Fidan discussed the upcoming celebration in Spain of the eighth High Level Meeting, for which a date has not yet been set and which will continue the previous bilateral summit, held in Ankara in November 2021.
The trip from Albares to Ankara also has an economic aspect due to the high number of Spanish companies present in Turkey. Therefore, the minister will discuss these issues today with the Minister of Finance and Treasury, Mehmet Simsek.
