"Important supporter": Erdogan probably supplies Ukraine with cluster munitions
Created: 01/11/2023 15:25
By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a meeting in Kyiv in 2020.
© Serg Glovny/Imago
Apparently, Turkey is not only supplying Ukraine with attack drones.
Officials from the US and Europe are now talking about the supply of cluster munitions.
Munich – Despite the war in Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to maintain close ties with Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
However, it is now clear that he is trying to cleverly balance his Ukraine policy in order to be able to remain in contact with both warring parties in view of Turkish interests.
This balancing act also includes military support for Ukraine.
First of all, it was the famous Bayraktar TB2 drones, which Kyiv skillfully used, especially at the beginning of the war.
This was followed by short-range ballistic missiles, according to media reports and local sources.
Now Ankara has apparently added a new link to the chain of military aid: cluster munitions.
Turkey supplies Ukraine with cluster bombs - weapon should help in anti-tank fights
Turkey reportedly began supplying Ukraine with American Cold War-era cluster munitions as early as November 2022.
This is reported by the US magazine
Foreign Policy
, citing American and European officials.
The weapon, each containing 88 smaller bombs, is primarily intended to help Ukraine fight Russian tanks.
This is likely to violate the 2010 Oslo Convention, according to which the use, development, manufacture, acquisition, stockpiling, retention and transfer of cluster munitions is prohibited.
However, Turkey has never ratified the treaty.
In early December, US broadcaster
CNN
reported that Ukraine had demanded cluster munitions from the US.
This demand from Kyiv probably remained unfulfilled, which is why the Ukrainian government turned to Turkey.
"After the US denied Ukraine access to cluster munitions, Turkey was the only country they could get these munitions from," an unnamed source told
Foreign Policy
.
The source further said: "This shows that Turkey - even if it is moving towards Russia in certain respects - has become a really important military supporter of Ukraine." Besides the military factor, Turkey also functions in the Ukraine war always as an intermediary.
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Ukraine war: Kremlin calmly responds to cluster munitions for Ukraine from Turkey
The Kremlin has since responded to the reports.
"Here, of course, it is difficult to talk about the reliability of these reports," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the state news
agency Interfax
.
"You know that there are more fake reports than reliable and truthful reports," Putin's spokesman said.
Still, check and monitor the reports.
In addition, he underlined that everyone is well informed about the "supplies of bayraktars to Ukraine from Turkey, ammunition for bayraktars and the like".
In addition, Peskow showed understanding for Ankara's position: "Turkey has its obligations as a NATO member country and its bilateral relations.
We are also aware of that.”
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At the same time, however, "very, very cooperative relations based on mutual benefit and mutual understanding" would connect Turkey and Russia.
Within the framework of these connections there is "respect and a mutual willingness to discuss the most difficult problems".
(bb)
