Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Turkish President Erdoğan Pulls Out Of European Summit Of EU Leaders On The Ukraine War

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters following his victory in the second round of the presidential election at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey May 29, 2023. (Reuters)  

Politico: Erdoğan pulls out of European summit  

The Turkish leader, who won reelection Sunday, was expected to attend the meeting, which is meant as a show of solidarity against Russia. 

CHISINAU — A massive gathering of European leaders on Thursday has suffered its first high-profile casualty, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pulling out at the last minute. 

The Turkish leader, who won five more years at the helm of his country in second-round elections on Sunday, will not travel to Moldova for the one-day summit, according to three officials involved in the preparations. 

The so-called European Political Community (EPC) — a new collective launched in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine — is meant to draw together European leaders beyond the EU. More than 40 European leaders will be present Thursday, including those from all 27 EU countries plus non-EU countries like Britain and Turkey, as well as the Western Balkan nations. 

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WNU Editor: Even though he won another 5 year term as President this weekend, the pressure is on Erdogan to change his policies .... Biden links Turkey's F-16 sale with Sweden's NATO bid in call to Erdogan (Al-Monitor). More here .... US ratchets up pressure on newly re-elected Erdogan ‘to change course’ (Arab Weekly). 

My guess is that he does not want to be pushed around at a conference where many of these EU leaders are not friendly with him in the first place.

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