* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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The opposition parties in Turkey released statements after Russia's military intervention in Ukraine yesterday (February 24).
While the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) said that "what is happening in Ukraine is the last link of the struggle for dominance between NATO and Russia," İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener said, "The current situation is not the problem of the government, but that of our country."
Earlier yesterday, explosions were reported in several Ukrainian provinces, including the capital Kyiv, after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in the Donbas region.
'Montreux Convention shouldn't be bent'
In a written statement about the current situation in Ukraine, the HDP Central Executive Board stressed that the Montreux Convention, an international treaty on the regime of Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles Straits in İstanbul and Çanakkale, should not be bent.
The party underlined that "what has been happening in Ukraine is not solely a tension between two neighboring countries, but the last link in the chain of struggle for dominance between NATO and Russia."
"We decisively reject the military intervention of Russia in violation of the international law", said the HDP Central Executive Board, "calling on the government of Russia to stick to the Minsk Accords and stop the military operations and to reopen channels of negotiation."
Urging the government of Ukraine to "abandon its attitude that will lead to an increase in tensions between the two blocs" as well, the HDP expressed its support for the initiatives to establish dialogue with Russia.
Addressing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the HDP called on the government to "fulfill its all authorities and responsibilities stemming from the Montreux Convention without bending it in any way."
The party also urged the international community, especially the United Nations (UN) and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to take initiatives so that civilians could be protected and humanitarian tragedies could be prevented from unfolding.
DiEM25 has also referred to 'geopolitical games'Amid the recent developments in Ukraine, international organizations have also been making statements calling for peace. The Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) Coodinating Collective also released a statement yesterday (February 24) and underlined that "the geopolitical games between Putin and NATO have led to war". Their full statement titled "Stop the War in Ukraine" reads as follows: "Stop Putin's invasion. Stop NATO escalation. Peace via a people's diplomacy! The 24th of February will be remembered as a dark day for Europe: Russia has attacked Ukraine. The geopolitical games between Putin and NATO have led to war, and Europe's peoples are the great losers, as the EU has, once again, proven itself powerless and irrelevant. "Today's top priority must be to stop the war, to return Russian troops to base and to start a real peace process. The immediate cessation of hostilities and a permanent peace must be the objective. Unfortunately, the rulers in Moscow, Washington and in the EU, who either caused the tensions or did nothing to stop their escalation, have shown themselves incapable of initiating a viable peace process. "DiEM25 is calling upon progressives in Europe, Russia, the United States, and across the whole world to energise a new internationalist peace movement with the sole objective of disarming the global military-industrial complex and working through a people's diplomacy – one that has humanity's interests at heart – toward internationalist solidarity, cooperation and peace. Wars sacrifice common people for the benefit of those in power and the profits of the 1%. To stop them and prevent them, we need real democracy." |
'Parliament should inform all leaders'
İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener also released a statement about the Ukraine invasion yesterday and said, "The current situation is not the problem of the government, but the problem of our country."
Noting that "the territorial integrity of an independent and sovereign state has been violated," she indicated that this situation "is in violation of the international law and rules." According to Akşener, it also means "a disregard for the Helsinki Final Act, the fundamental document underpinning Europe's architecture of security, and all other agreements signed since then."
Further in her statement, Meral Akşener noted that "this attack will inevitably have destructive consequences for the citizens of Ukraine as well as the infrastructure and economy of the country."
Saying that "there is nothing much that can be done by the government except for making political calls in the current military conflict situation," Akşener referred to "the current fragility of Turkey's economy" and stressed that "the priority should be given to keeping the repercussions of the crisis for Turkey at minimum and to managing the troubles to be caused by the crisis".
"The situation today is not the problem of the government, but the problem of our country," said İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener, noting that "the steps to be taken in line with the national interests to get over this problem will be possible only with negotiations and common sense."
Accordingly, Meral Akşener called on the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to regularly inform all political party leaders until the crisis subsides and to bring the leaders together if necessary. (AÖ/AEK/SD)
