Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a visit to Belgrade on Wednesday, accused Western countries of "following a policy based on provoking" Russia. Erdogan said in a press conference with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, in response to a question about the energy crisis in Europe: "I can say publicly that I do not find that the current behavior of the West ... is correct. The West is pursuing a policy based on provocation" of Russia.
The Turkish president told reporters that he understood Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to cut off natural gas supplies to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline. The Turkish president added, "As Turkey, which has always maintained a policy of balance between Ukraine and Russia, we confirm that we will continue to follow this balanced policy."
