Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez in Ankara: “We are joined by a historic commitment that Turkey is part of the European Union. Turkey is not only, in the opinion of Spain, a neighbor. It is an essential partner and ally for the European Union.”

13 comments

  3. Lol is this guy serious? Why does he say European Union instead of just Spain? Literally, France is next on EU presidency and they have a huge anti-turkish policy. Also, everyone knows our ( Greece ) and Cyprus relationship with Turkey. Italy’s PM also called Erdogan a dictator and idk about anyone else but that’s already 4 members.

  4. Turkey is not part of the EU, it’s not a friend or ally of the EU. Turkey is in fact an enemy of the EU.

  5. LMAO Turkey openly threatens EU members with war, a level not even Russia has reached. But of course the Spanish want to sell weapons to Turkey so what else would they say?

  8. I am glad he is not on charge of Turkey joining or not. I say let put this to the vote and let him crawl back in his bubble.

  9. Translation of the article in english using DeepL:

    ## Spain seeks to expand warship sales to Turkey
    ### Sanchez and Erdogan chair the 7th Spanish-Turkish summit in Ankara on Wednesday

    The strengthening of military cooperation will be one of the axes of the VII Spanish-Turkish High Level Meeting (RAN) to be held next Wednesday in Ankara, under the presidency of the head of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The summit will be attended, on the Spanish side, by the Second and Third Vice-Presidents of the Government, Yolanda Díaz and Teresa Ribera, and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, Defense, Margarita Robles, and Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.

    Spain is one of Turkey’s best allies in the EU and the NATO partner that has maintained a Patriot missile battery on the Syrian-Turkish border since 2015. Turkey awarded the Spanish shipyard Navantia the design of an LHD amphibious assault ship similar to the Juan Carlos I due to enter service next year. The contract included the option to build a second unit of the same type, the Thrace, but this has not been finalized so far. Turkey planned to use both ships as platforms for an embarked unit of F-35 aircraft, but the Pentagon canceled the sale after Erdogan bought the S-400 anti-aircraft defense system from Russia. The Turkish Navy is now refocusing the operational employment of the Anadolu to equip it with drones. In addition to hoping that Ankara will execute the option for a second LHD, Navantia participated last August in the Idef arms fair in Istanbul, where it presented the F-110 frigate and the S-80 submarine, which it is building for the Spanish Navy.

    The traditional dispute between Greece and Turkey over control of the Aegean Sea has intensified with the discovery of gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean, which has brought the respective navies to the brink of confrontation, although in recent months there has been a “de-escalation”, according to Spanish diplomatic sources.

    In the midst of this dispute, the two neighbors have embarked on an arms race involving European countries. Greece tried, unsuccessfully, to get Germany to cancel the sale to Turkey of six Reis Class submarines, with air-independent propulsion (AIP) system, for some 4 billion euros. Greece countered with the purchase of three French frigates (with an option for a fourth) of the Belharra class for between 3 and 5 billion.

    France has become not only Athens’ closest ally (to whom it has sold 24 Rafale fighter jets), but Turkey’s main European adversary. Last summer their warships threatened each other in the central Mediterranean because of Paris and Ankara’s cross-support for the warring sides in Libya. In the arms race between Turkey and Greece, Spain has sided with the former. Or rather they have placed it. Last June, Greece eliminated Navantia’s offer for its frigate program.

    Written by Miguel González.

    Edit: remove complaining that OP chose a misleading title. Actually it is not that much misleading, since Spanish PM actually said this sentence.

  13. Partner and ally? Maybe, once they get rid of Erdogan and get their shit together.

    Part of the European Union? Thanks but no thanks. Enough with this “everybody’s welcome on board” mindset.

    The EU is in desperate need of much more stringent requirements for prospective members. Turkey, even before Erdogan, had no history of democracy, but a cyclical stint with military coups, which are clearly unacceptable within the EU.

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