Erdogan assures that sending tanks to Ukraine will not solve the war

According to Ankara, the West's decision to supply kyiv with tanks only "fills the pockets" of arms producers

MADRID, 2 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured that the West sending tanks to Ukraine will not solve the war and will only "fill the pockets" of arms producers.

Asked in an interview on the Turkish public channel TRT World, the Turkish president pointed out that sending tanks and weapons "does not solve the problem", which is why he has called for promoting talks between Ukraine and Russia to reach " lasting peace."

The Turkish president's words come weeks after Germany agreed to allow third countries to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, in addition to announcing that it would send 14 of these tanks to kyiv. Following Germany's decision, the United States announced the shipment of its Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Erdogan has expressed that the country "expects sincere steps from Sweden in the fight against Islamophobia" after the Danish-Swedish extremist Rasmus Paludan burned copies of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy in Sweden.

"Despite the warnings, Sweden has turned a blind eye to the burning of the Koran and the Police protected the perpetrators. Hate crimes against Muslims are not acceptable," stressed the Turkish president, adding that "the apologies of Sweden will not solve the problems."

Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO in May, a decision prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, the two Nordic countries need the unanimous approval of the member states of the Atlantic Alliance.

Until now, Turkey has blocked the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO, alleging that it alleges a lack of cooperation from both countries when resolving extraditions of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), considered by Ankara as an organization terrorist.

Thus, the Turkish government has accused Sweden and Finland of breaching the agreement signed on the sidelines of the NATO summit held in Madrid at the end of June.