Turkish media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced he canceled plans to attend the global climate conference in Glasgow on Monday because the UK did not meet Turkey's demands regarding security arrangements. Heads of state and government from around the world are attending the "COP26" summit, which is considered crucial to avoid the devastating effects of climate change. Erdoğan was expected to join them in Scotland after attending the G20 summit in Rome earlier this week, but instead, he returned to Turkey shortly after midnight.
He was quoted by Turkish media while on his plane back to Turkey, stating that Ankara had made demands related to the security protocol standards for the summit in Britain, but these were not accepted. Erdoğan said, "Since our demands were not met, we decided not to go to Glasgow." He confirmed that the protocol standards requested by Ankara are those that are always applied during his international trips.
Erdoğan added that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially said the issue was resolved, "but he returned to us at the last moment, stating that the Scottish side was causing difficulties." He later learned that the measures sought by Turkey were granted to another unnamed country. He deemed this situation unacceptable, stating, "We are obligated to protect the dignity of our nation." He continued, "This is not just about our security, but about the reputation of our country as well." According to several media reports, the Turkish president refrained from participating in the "COP26" conference due to restrictions on the size of the Turkish delegation and the number of official vehicles.
