Turkey has pressured its NATO allies to soften their official response to Belarus over “State hijacking” of the Ryanair aircraft, reveals in an exclusive article the Reuters agency, citing two diplomatic sources.
NATO issued a two-paragraph statement Wednesday condemning the forced landing of a Ryanair flight aimed at arresting journalist Roman Protasevic. but did not include sanctions imposed by the Baltic states and Poland.
The statement was also softer than the public remarks by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who called the incident “state hijacking” and “outrageous”.
Ankara has insisted that any reference to more Western sanctions on Belarus, demands for the release of political prisoners and rhetoric to suspend NATO-Minsk co-operation be ruled out, according to the two diplomats who spoke to Reuters.
What could be Turkey’s motives?
Turkey’s motives were not immediately clear. Diplomats said Ankara may try to maintain ties with Moscow, Belarus’s closest ally, as well as maintaining its economic relations with Belarus through Turkish Airlines, which operates daily flights to Minsk.
Another possibility could be Turkey’s desire to welcome Russian tourists this summer after the coronavirus pandemic.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has not yet commented.
A NATO official said: “The NATO Council statement on Belarus was agreed by all 30 allies. We do not consider the details of the discussions, which are confidential. “
One of the diplomats said that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg won the consent of all allies, including Turkey, for the final text posted on the NATO website to avoid further public discrepancies.
Irritation in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia
Ankara’s insistence on softening reactions to the final text has angered several allies, including Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, which have been pushing for a tougher language, the report said.
A source also told the agency that Turkey’s move focused mainly on using different rhetoric than its EU counterpart, which also included proposals for sanctions against Minsk, such as the closure of EU airspace for Belarus and Recommendation to European airlines not to fly over Belarus airspace.
“Several allies were very upset with Turkey. “It was important for NATO to react and it is not clear why Ankara wanted to defend Lukashenko,” said a European diplomat who was present at the meeting.
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