President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met reporters on the sidelines of the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.
Commenting on the Global Refugee Forum, Erdoğan said:
“During our time in Geneva on the occasion of the UN Global Refugee Summit, we held bilateral meetings and shared our opinions on the refugee crisis with the UN.
I received the Prime Minister of Somalia. We have discussed bilateral relations and the situation in Eastern Africa. You would recall the great humanitarian crisis in Somalia when we first visited the country on a Ramadan day. The situation has been improving gradually. Thankfully there is a stronger Somalia today. Turkey has a strong presence in Somalia from economy to security and health services. Somalia is one of the best examples of Turkey's policy of embracing the oppressed.
We had a meeting with our citizens living in Europe. We have always stood by our nearly 6 million citizens living abroad, and will continue to do so. We want them both to maintain strong ties with Turkey and achieve success in the countries they are living in. And we do not see any contradiction between these two goals.
We will continue to fight against anti-Turkey and anti-Islam sentiments recently rising in several countries.
I have co-chaired and addressed the United Nations Global Refugee Forum. Today, there are around 260 million migrants, more than 71 million displaced persons and more than 25 million refugees across the world. According to United Nations data, Turkey is the country hosting the highest number of refugees. Turkey also ranks the first in terms of humanitarian aid based on gross national product.
We are implementing the open door policy as a humanitarian and moral responsibility. We express that the world should also assume this responsibility. Developed and wealthy western countries have failed the test during the refugee crisis. The same applies to some wealthy Arab states. Global problems, however, may only be overcome through global cooperation and solidarity. The world’s avoidance of the refugee problem does not make the problem disappear. To this end, we attach great importance to the Global Compact on Refugees adopted last year.
The key to ending the refugee crisis emerging from Syria is to end the Syrian civil war. That's why we are doing our best to find a political solution while hosting the refugees. Our priority is to end terrorism by protecting Syria’s territorial integrity, and enabling Syrians to return to their homes voluntarily, safely and in an honourable way. To this end, the formation of a safe zone is crucial.
In Geneva, I also had a meeting with Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and we had a chance to thoroughly discuss bilateral relations. In addition, we discussed regional issues and talked about the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting that will be held in Pakistan in February.”
You addressed the refugee issue in your speech at the UN. Turkey is hosting nearly four million refugees and has a proposal for a substantial solution. What was the level of support to the Safe Zone plan at the Global Refugee Forum?
“Regarding our call for the establishment of the safe zone, even the strongest countries with the most notable economies in the world have not said 'we are in' yet. We are still waiting for a response but there is nothing. We have so far invested more than 40 billion Dollars. We wish to form a safe zone 120 kilometres long and 32 kilometres deep between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn. Turkey will surely ensure security in this zone. In this respect, we had talks with both the Americans and Mr Putin on Tuesday. All of them said 'Let's continue our work in solidarity.' If we manage to do this, it will make history by posing an example. They will say, 'Turkey has built such a refugee city or cities.' This is very important for us. Our project is very good.”
You talked to Russian President Putin over the phone. Did you talk about Turkey’s plan to send troops to Libya? Could you provide us information on the content of this conversation?
We have made an assignment. According to this, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, deputy minister of defence and a delegation of intelligence and security officials will soon visit Moscow. They will thoroughly discuss regional issues with their counterparts. We asked Putin to ensure that this meeting would be constructive and conclusive, and he said he would give the necessary instructions to this end. We have agreed that the delegations would discuss the issues of Libya and Syria.
Israeli officials convey the message that they are open to negotiation on the EastMed pipeline project. Would cooperation on Eastern Mediterranean be possible with riparian countries like Israel, Lebanon and Egypt in the future?
Such a possibility has never come to Turkey's agenda and there is thus no point in mentioning it.
Are our Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in the region (in TRNC)?
If necessary, we can further increase their number. Everything can change at any moment depending on our needs. Libya is also meeting its own needs in this respect. Military Security and Cooperation Agreement will further strengthen our solidarity. The location and function of the UAVs that landed in Geçitkale are also important. This process will continue at the same speed.