– a special relationship

– Russia and Turkey need each other, says Turkish President Erdogan in a recent interview CNN.

The president is in a tough election campaign going into the second round of elections next weekend. Obviously, Turkish sanctions will not be imposed on Russia if he is re-elected.

We are not at a stage where we want to impose sanctions on Russia as the West did. We are not bound by Western sanctions. Erdogan says: We are a strong country, and we have positive relations with Russia.

negotiating partner

At the same time, it is believed that his rival in the election campaign, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, wants to separate Turkey from Russia, according to CNN.

Erdogan himself highlights his positive relationship with Putin and Russia as important to the world. The Turkish president has several times played the role of mediator in the West’s talks with Putin.

Among other things, he was involved in negotiations on grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea. An agreement that was extended this week, which, according to Erdogan, averted a global food crisis.

– It was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin, says Erdogan.

Sweden no

In the same interview with CNN, Erdogan made it clear that Turkey was still not ready to allow Sweden to join NATO.

– We are not ready for Sweden now. “As for the NATO country, it should take a stronger stance when it comes to fighting terrorism,” he tells the channel.

The dispute between Sweden and Turkey revolves, among other things, over Sweden’s unwillingness to extradite more people whom Turkey describes as terrorists, and believes that they can only be tried in Sweden.

– As long as Sweden continues to allow members of terrorist organizations in Turkey to roam freely in Sweden, on the streets of Stockholm, we cannot look positively at Sweden’s membership in NATO, says the Turkish president.

Sweden hopes to become a full member of NATO at the alliance’s summit in Lithuania on July 11-12.