President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “America does not want Ukraine to join NATO”

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in an interview with NBC News during his visit to New York for the 79th United Nations General Assembly, discussed several significant issues, including Turkey’s stance on Hamas and Ukraine’s potential NATO membership.

Regarding Hamas, Erdoğan emphasized that he did not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. He described Hamas as a “resistance group” focused on protecting its land and questioned how he could label them as terrorists. Erdoğan also highlighted the suffering of the Palestinian people, particularly before the events of October 7, and stressed that the historical context leading up to these events should be understood, including the loss of Palestinian territory since 1947. He implied that many people overlooked the Palestinian casualties and the factors that contributed to the situation.

USA AND SEVERAK NATO MEMBERS DO NOT WANT UKRAINE TO JOIN NATO

On the topic of Ukraine’s NATO membership, Erdoğan stated that the United States and several other NATO members did not want Ukraine to join NATO. He remarked that Turkey’s decision on the matter would be based on careful consideration of the broader NATO stance. Erdoğan cautioned against making decisions on such critical issues impulsively, emphasizing that Turkey would take into account the positions of all NATO members before reaching a final decision. When asked if Turkey had made a decision yet, Erdoğan responded that they had not.