Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that he will not attend the UN climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow (UK), citing “security” grounds, the state news agency reported on Monday. Anadolu.
“We gave up going to Glasgow when our requests were not met. It was not only for our security, but also for the reputation of our country, ”the Turkish president told reporters on board the presidential plane when he returned from the G20 to Rome.
Restrictions too strong for Turkey on the size of delegations
“We had standards for the security protocol (…). However, we were informed at the last moment that these could not be satisfied, ”detailed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to comments reported by the Turkish channel NTV.
Initially expected on Monday in Glasgow, Erdogan returned to Turkey overnight from Sunday to Monday, raising doubts about his participation in COP26.
According to several media, including the Middle East Eye website, the Turkish president has given up participating in COP26 due to restrictions on the size of the Turkish delegation and the number of official vehicles.
The Turkish president – whose country is the latest to ratify the Paris climate agreement – originally planned to meet with US President Joe Biden.
But the two heads of state met on Sunday at the G20 in Rome, vowing to cooperate better to improve particularly tense relations, according to Ankara and the White House.
The Turkish president also spoke behind closed doors on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
