AIRLINK 175.65 Decreased By ▼ -1.91 (-1.08%)
BOP 11.01 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.36%)
CNERGY 8.33 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (1.96%)
FCCL 47.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-0.46%)
FFL 16.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.62%)
FLYNG 27.02 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-1.21%)
HUBC 142.45 Decreased By ▼ -4.46 (-3.04%)
HUMNL 13.37 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-1.04%)
KEL 4.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.11%)
KOSM 5.91 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
MLCF 61.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.52 (-0.84%)
OGDC 226.31 Decreased By ▼ -8.37 (-3.57%)
PACE 5.80 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PAEL 44.79 Decreased By ▼ -1.62 (-3.49%)
PIAHCLA 17.93 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-1.05%)
PIBTL 10.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-1.14%)
POWER 12.10 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.92%)
PPL 185.99 Decreased By ▼ -5.81 (-3.03%)
PRL 37.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.19%)
PTC 24.14 Increased By ▲ 0.94 (4.05%)
SEARL 99.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-0.93%)
SSGC 38.40 Decreased By ▼ -1.31 (-3.3%)
SYM 14.89 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.93%)
TELE 7.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.15%)
TPLP 11.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.09%)
TRG 66.00 Decreased By ▼ -1.29 (-1.92%)
WAVESAPP 11.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.35 (-3.08%)
WTL 1.36 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
YOUW 3.82 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (1.33%)
BR100 12,826 Increased By 19.4 (0.15%)
BR30 38,861 Decreased By -842.2 (-2.12%)
KSE100 118,792 Decreased By -146.5 (-0.12%)
KSE30 36,779 Increased By 22.6 (0.06%)

ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO was “worrying”, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

Erdogan’s comments came as NATO leaders huddled in Washington and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was planning “response measures” to contain the “very serious threat” from the alliance.

“The possibility of a direct conflict between NATO and Russia is undoubtedly worrying,” said Erdogan, who is in Washington for the NATO summit. “Any steps that could lead to this outcome should be consciously avoided.”

Erdogan spoke a day after NATO allies announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine while stepping up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership in the alliance, at a 75th anniversary summit clouded by political uncertainties in the United States.

On the eve of the summit, Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Ukraine, killing dozens, including in Kyiv where a children’s hospital was heavily damaged.

Peskov, in comments published by Russian news agencies, said the Western military alliance was now “fully involved in the conflict over Ukraine”.

Russian diplomat says Moscow won’t attend a second Ukraine peace summit

NATO member Turkiye has sought to balance ties between its two Black Sea neighbours Russia and Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Ankara has sent drones to Ukraine while shying away from Western-led sanctions on Moscow.

Last year, Erdogan, whose government is seeking to mediate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, said Ukraine “undoubtedly” deserved NATO membership when he met President Volodymyr Zelensky.

‘Deeper conflicts’

On Thursday, Erdogan also played down the influence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional bloc that Moscow and Beijing have promoted as a counterweight to US domination.

“We do not think that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is an alternative to NATO,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan says may invite Syria’s Assad to Turkiye ‘at any moment’

Turkiye has been an SCO dialogue partner since 2012 and Erdogan, who attended the July summit, has suggested in the past he wanted full membership.

Before flying to Washington on Tuesday, Erdogan called for more NATO involvement in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Erdogan has already voiced concerns over what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and on Thursday renewed his warnings about the war spreading.

“Israel’s threats and attempts to spread the conflict must come to an end,” he said.

“Otherwise, our region will face the risk of deeper conflicts and even a war.”

Comments

Comments are closed.