NEWS: "Bogdan Aurescu stated today at the joint conference with the foreign ministers of Poland and Turkey that the withdrawal of Russian troops from the eastern border of Ukraine is a development “in the right direction” and stressed the need for a further analysis of the causes that led to this very tense situation.
[…]
Much more diplomatic, the Turkish Foreign Minister believes that the Black Sea region should be kept away from tensions, because it’s our common home”. And this is an approach totally different from that of Romania!
“Today I want to emphasize the importance of unity and solidarity. The Black Sea region is our common home and we need to make sure that this region is kept away from tensions. We are all concerned about recent developments, but we have received promising news recently and we hope that dialogue and diplomacy will prevail. There are other pressing issues that we need to address, such as Afghanistan, NATO and the NATO Summit. We have discussed all these issues and we will continue to coordinate our policies", Mevlut Cavuşoglu said, teaching Aurescu a lesson of non-coercive diplomacy, after the plenary session of the meeting in Trilateral format.
As for the Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, he reiterated the strong commitment to security and stability in the region, from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
"I am glad that our three countries have the same common position with regard to maintaining NATO’s readiness on the Eastern Flank. It is important to remember that the trilateral has a political dimension, but also a military one. I am glad that a military contingent will soon be operational. Romania already announced its presence already in 2017 and I thank Romania and Turkey for the relevant presence in Poland", Zbigniew Rau said, following a militaristic approach of American inspiration, shared by Romania.
Thus, while Bucharest and Warsaw are flexing their muscles on behalf of the Alliance, Turkey has adopted a mediating role, in accordance with the authentic diplomatic traditions that Romania and Poland seem to have forgotten."
NARRATIVES: 1. There are divergent positions within the Trilateral.: Turkey pursues "a non-conflictual diplomacy", while Romania and Poland have a militaristic approach. 2. Expressing concern about Russia's actions in the region is a form of conflictual diplomacy.
LOCAL CONTEXT / ETHOS: The situation in the Black Sea region, tense for years as a result of Russia's aggressions (Georgia, 2008, Ukraine, 2014) has recently become tenser in the context in which Moscow has mobilized impressive troops, with military equipment and combat gear, in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
In this context, the foreign ministers of the so-called Trilateral, a regional format that includes Poland, Romania and Turkey, met in Bucharest. The foreign ministers of Georgia and Ukraine were also invited. The members of the Trilateral issued a joint statement which, among other things, refers to the situation in the Black Sea area and the worrisome military activities in the Eastern neighborhood, including recently in and around Ukraine (a clear reference to Russia). Also, the three officials reassure their counterparts from Georgia and Ukraine on their countries’ “undiminished commitment to offer support and assistance.”
PURPOSE: To discredit a regional initiative by inventing a fracture; to promote Russia's narratives on the Ukrainian crisis.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The three foreign ministers had a common position, which is clearly stated in their joint statement. To say that Turkey promotes a non-conflictual diplomacy is bizarre to say the least, given the many disputes Ankara has had in recent years: with the European Union and its member states, with countries in the Mediterranean basin, with the United States, etc. Even the relations with the Russian Federation have been strained, especially before the coup attempt in 2016. The emphasis placed by countries like Romania and Poland on security stems from the danger that these countries are perceiving as a result of Russia's aggression in the region in the past years.
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