AtillaYesiladaENG

Seriously WTF from Von der Leyen. She has no clue - Russia, Turkiye and China in the same camp? Does she not realise European defence without the Americans will be dependent on the quad - Ukraine, Turkiye, Finland and Poland.

Dear Charles, since you are talking about double standards, let me remind you that Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, and still occupies European territory, 🇨🇾🇪🇺

Turkey launched a frontal attack with aggressive migrants on the EU just a few years ago, has endlessly tried to blackmail us during the Migrant Crisis, literally occupies European territory in Cyprus and engages in ethno-religious influence operations in EU countries at every occassion. Among many, many other things, if anyone has "started shit" it's Erdogan's Turkey. It has long been a thorn in the side of NATO/EU, and above all Turkey is not European. Turkey is its own geopolitical and civilizational player, ruthlessly pursuing their own aims and interests. These often conflict with our interests and we don't belong together. European civilization has a border and that border runs through the Bosphorus.

A very important point: Ursula von der Leyen’s casual grouping of Turkey with China/Russia as “malign influences” on the continent contradicts (despite Erdogan’s troubled legacy) the role the country has had in the Ukraine war effort, absorbing refugee flows and handling Syria.