President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an interview with the journal Kriter in which he addressed the upcoming elections, the reconstruction efforts following the earthquakes, the global agenda, and Türkiye's contributions to these topics.
Remarking on the restoration and construction efforts after the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş and Hatay, President Erdoğan stated that the state has been making efforts with all its means since the earthquake occurred and will continue to make efforts.
Noting that he also regularly visits the cities affected by the earthquake, President Erdoğan stated that they both held ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of new houses and met with the citizens during the iftar dinner.
Emphasising that they would never leave earthquake victims alone during Ramadan and afterwards, President Erdoğan said, "Our top priority in the next process is to restore the earthquake-affected area as soon as possible. We endeavour for this. We stand by our citizens whenever they need. When planning new settlements, we relocate our earthquake-affected cities on solid ground, from plains to mountains, as much as possible. We are restoring our ancient city settlements with an understanding that will keep our historical and cultural assets alive and strengthen them against disasters at the same time. In this regard, we laid the foundations of 4 thousand 431 residences in Adıyaman, 7 thousand 353 in Kahramanmaraş, 6 thousand 815 in Gaziantep, 3 thousand 122 in Hatay and 6 thousand 238 in Malatya."
Pointing out that the construction of 27 thousand 949 residences in total has begun, and some of them are nearly completed, President Erdoğan stated that they would complete these residences by the summer and that their target is to complete 650 thousand residences, 319 thousand of which within the first year, and deliver them to the citizens in the earthquake-hit region.
"We will continue our efforts with scientists"
When stated that Türkiye is an earthquake zone and asked whether the cities are prepared for an earthquake, President Erdoğan replied, "I have repeatedly emphasised this circumstance and the significance of urban transformation. Now we already have legal regulations regarding zoning. However, following these incidents, we held the National Risk Shield Meeting, for example. Here, we evaluate all the hazards and threats that can be grouped together as the disaster risk faced by Türkiye. Earthquake is one of them. Likewise, we should include other natural disasters, such as floods, fires, landslides, and droughts. It is not enough; we should also include other factors, from pandemics to terrorism, from refugee influxes to economic crises."
Stating that every possibility imposed by geopolitics should be taken into account, President Erdoğan continued as follows:
"In conclusion, I believe that every crisis that threatens the existence, life, and future of our country and nation should be regarded as a disaster, and we should consider our pre- and post-disaster measures. At this meeting we held in Istanbul, we met with more than 100 engineers, architects, geophysicists, geological engineers, scientists, and professors from various fields. Minister of Environment and Urbanisation held meetings with them in Gaziantep, and after all this, I believe it is meant to take a new step in terms of regulation. If our citizens give us the duty once more, we will continue working with our scientists on this, if Allah permits, of course. We will advance in the new period by having a more in-depth conversation with them and establishing legal arrangements. "
When noted and asked, "The May 14 elections are considered among the most significant in the world. In your opinion, in what aspects does this election differ from previous elections?" President Erdoğan replied, "First of all, we must acknowledge that every situation in which Türkiye's name is or will be used today is a topic that cannot be disregarded by the global agenda. We are one of the five countries that have produced combat-ready aircraft on its own. We are among the few countries that conduct scientific research, even in Antarctica. From our ships to our cars, from our UAVs and UCAVs to our tanks, from electric trains to our satellites, we have offered a stunning and inspirational example of a national paradigm to the world in 20 years under the slogan of being indigenous and national. "
"We have extracted natural gas in just 2.5 years"
Stating that the results of the elections in May will be crucial, particularly in determining the course that "all the right steps taken over 20 years" will take, President Erdoğan said:
"We are moving forward to a point where we cannot afford to stop, let alone come to the parting of ways. In this regard, let me give you a striking example. We informed our nation of some excellent news. Inside the borders of our blue homeland, in a zone 170 kilometres from the land in the Western Black Sea Region, we saw the first results of our massive investments in hydrocarbon resources. When we assert that we will bring this good news that we announced to our nation in 2020 to the system by 2023 at the very latest, I wonder what people who argue that this is a baseless political argument will find wrong with the flame of our country's natural gas, which will rise to the sky on April 20 as a token of independence. "
Natural gas was first discovered in the Black Sea in 1975. The institutional processes for this discovery were finished in 1995, and the 2005 gas discovery was connected to the land. Therefore, based on this timeline, I would like to express my viewpoint on the significance of the elections on May 14. Do you know how far the reserve is from the land in this natural gas adventure, which took 30 years to complete from discovery to landing? 2.5 kilometres alone. What was the distance to the land of the reserve news that we shared with our nation? Precisely 170 kilometres. So, how long did it take us to deliver the natural gas we extracted from 2,000 metres under the sea to the nearby land? 975 days only."
Stating that under a presidential administration system, the natural gas transmission, which moves only 2.5 kilometres from the reserve to the land in 30 years in a Türkiye run by coalitions, occurs in roughly 2.5 years, President Erdoğan said, "This example alone demonstrates the significance of the May 14 elections. We are the representatives of a political understanding in which we share the good news that will benefit our nation and bring this good news to life through processes that can be called miracles against a power-sharing system through the illusion of a parliamentary system. On May 14, seen as a defining moment for democracy in our republic, I believe our country will once again be on the side of progress and development. "