British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, ‘We highly value Turkey’s role in negotiating the agreement on the export of grain from the Black Sea and its efforts to protect the Montreux Convention.’ said.
Cleverly, who was in New York for the 77th United Nations General Assembly Meetings, answered the questions of Anadolu Agency reporter.
Evaluating Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of mobilization after the loss of territory in eastern Ukraine, Cleverly said, “The declaration of mobilization shows that the war (for Putin) did not go as planned.”
“Putin was hoping to invade all of Ukraine in a few weeks, but now months later we see Ukrainian forces pushing back Russian forces over much of eastern Ukraine,” Cleverly said.
“Our message to Vladimir Putin is that this illegal and unprovoked war is wrong. The best Putin can do is withdraw his troops, allow the Ukrainians to regain control of their country and rebuild their economy. We will continue to support this call and the people of Ukraine.”
Cleverly, after some Russian-occupied areas re-entered Ukraine, said, “Any fake referendum held here (in eastern Ukraine) will not be free, fair or legitimate and will not reflect the true desire and will of the people in eastern Ukraine. Instead of wasting time and energy with these meaningless referendums, what Russia should do is to withdraw its troops,” he said.
– NATO IS NOT A THREAT AGAINST RUSSIA
Regarding Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons, Cleverly said:
“We saw Vladimir Putin’s aggressive rhetoric that escalated tensions. What he (Putin) must understand, what the world must understand, is that we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainians because they are defending their country. NATO has never posed a threat to Putin. This war is an election and Putin may choose to withdraw his army.
Pointing out that Russia’s war against Ukraine has increased the problems regarding food safety, especially in the south, Cleverly said, “Those who have food shortages should know that there are no sanctions on food exports, no sanctions on fertilizer exports, no sanctions on ammonium nitrate exports. “Putin is using hunger as a weapon of war, and it is immoral and wrong to do so.”
– “IT IS VERY VALUABLE FOR TURKEY TO PROTECT THE MONTRÖ CONVENTION”
Evaluating Turkey’s mediation efforts between Ukraine and Russia as a NATO member country, Cleverly continued as follows:
“We highly value Turkey’s role in negotiating the agreement on grain exports from the Black Sea and its efforts to protect the Montreux Convention. But ultimately it is Russia’s responsibility (to end the war)… Contributions of both Turkey and other countries are for us. valuable.”
– “GUARANTEE COUNTRY ENGLAND’S CYPRUS POSITION HAS NOT CHANGED”
When asked what kind of a solution the UK, as one of the guarantor countries, proposed a solution to the problem in Cyprus and whether it would recognize the TRNC as an independent state, Cleverly replied:
“Our position on Cyprus is well known and remains consistent. We want to see a solution. Of course, we also have a great relationship with Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. As England, of course we want the problem to be solved, but our attitude has been the same for a long time and hasn’t changed.”
– “UN NEEDS TO EVOLUTION”
Clevery evaluated the stance of the UK, one of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, regarding the increasing calls for reform:
“We want the UN to continue to be an influential voice on the world stage. To be effective, of course, all institutions must evolve. We support UN reform and of course want to do this together with the international community. It wouldn’t be right for me to go into more details now, but of course we need to ensure that this institution continues to be effective in the future, and reforms are important.”
– TURKEY-ROLLS ROYCE PARTNERSHIP FOR NATIONAL COMBATIVE AIRCRAFT
When asked whether the British aircraft and engine manufacturer Rolls Royce had an effort or an objection to the British government’s stance on producing engines for the Turkish national combat aircraft, Cleverly replied as follows:
“Turkey is a NATO country and Rolls Royce is a British company and we are proud of it. These kinds of negotiations happen between the parties, but we as the UK are proud of our technology and engineering heritage. I’m happy to see our friends around the world working with these great companies as well.’