Voicing his pleasure over hosting Prime Minister Draghi and his accompanying delegation in Ankara, President Erdoğan offered his condolences for those who lost their lives during an ice avalanche in the Italian Alps on Sunday, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, thanking Italian officials for the cooperation they displayed following the helicopter crash in Toscana region where four Turkish citizens passed away.

“Today we held the third meeting of our Intergovernmental Summit with Italy, our friend, strategic partner and NATO ally,” noted the President, adding that these meetings constituted the highest level platform where the bilateral relations were discussed in detail.

“Our bilateral trade volume increased by 34 per cent last year”

Stating that the meetings focused on the developing of the cooperation opportunities, President Erdoğan noted: “As two Mediterranean countries, we have exchanged our views on both regional and global matters. We have signed 9 agreements which will strengthen the institutionalization of our relations in many areas. Thanks be to Allah, our economic and trade relations further enhance each passing day. Despite the pandemic, our bilateral trade volume increased by 34 per cent last year and surpassed 23 billion dollars, a record high. Another characteristics of our bilateral trade is it being balanced. The current figures show that we will easily exceed the threshold of 25 billion dollars this year.”

Fight against terror

Underscoring that the military defense relations and the cooperation in defense industry Türkiye had built with Italy were of particular importance, President Erdoğan went on to say: “We are of the same opinion that deepening our relations in these areas are to our mutual benefit. The fight against terror is another important item on our agenda. In this regard, during our bilateral meeting I have shared with my treasured friend our expectations from Italy. We have addressed with Mr. Prime Minister migration management and combatting illegal migration as well. We seek to enhance our cooperation in this area through consultations and joint projects.”

Türkiye-EU relations

Stressing that Türkiye-European Union relations were also on the agenda of their talks, President Erdoğan said: “I thank Mr. Draghi for their support to the enhancement of these relations. The developments in our region have once again shown in a concrete manner how important Türkiye is to the European Union in many areas. What really matters is to strengthen Türkiye’s membership perspective at this stage. Italy is aware of the added value Türkiye’s membership will provide to the EU. I believe this support will increasingly grow.”

Ukrainian crisis

Further noting that the Ukrainian crisis was thoroughly discussed during the Intergovernmental Summit session, President Erdoğan continued as follows: “We have exchanged our views on returning to the negotiation process between Russia and Ukraine, and the United Nations plan on the export of Ukrainian grain over the Black Sea. On the occasion of the summit, I have also discussed with Mr. Prime Minister other regional matters, Libya in particular. Italy is an important partner of ours in the area of energy. Also, we addressed at our talks our joint projects and mutual interests, including our cooperation in the undersea pipeline installation in Sakarya Natural Gas Field.”

Grain shipment over the Black Sea

Answering reporters’ questions following his remarks, President Erdoğan, in response to a question regarding the grain issue, pointed out that the views of both President Vladimir Putin of Russia and  President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on the issue were also of importance, and said: “We maintain our talks for the transportation of this grain, be it wheat, barley or sunflower oil,  to the world. Currently, we do not have any problem regarding this issue, but the world has. Particularly, there is a great problem in Africa and we want to mediate between the two leaders and resolve the issue by continuing our talks under the roof of the United Nations with Mr. Guterres as well. We will intensify our talks within 10 days and try to reach a solution.”

Samp-t air defense system

Answering a question about the SAMP-T air defense system, President Erdoğan said he had already addressed the issue with President Emmanuel Macron of France on the sidelines of the recent NATO Summit, and that he also discussed the issue with Prime Minister Draghi during today’s talks. “Our Defense Ministers addressed the issue as well. We want to pass to the signing phase for the SAMP-Ts as soon as possible. We want to put our signatures for it is also important to our air defense systems as well. We have mutual understanding with Mr. Prime Minister on this issue, there is no problem at all. Likewise, we have mutual understanding with Mr. Macron as well. It is my wish that we put our signatures as soon as possible and look ahead.”

Greece’s push back policy on migrants

Asked if the recent change of route of irregular migrants towards Italy due to Greece’s push back policy and pressures was on the agenda of today’s talks, President Erdoğan noted these pushbacks now threatened Italy in particular, and said: “Due to these push backs, these people try to take refuge in Italy. We, for our part, make every effort about these push backs and collect these people from the seas. We collect them and try to save them. Italy is faced with the same problem as well.” (ILKHA)