President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made remarks on current issues in an interview with Doha-based Al Jazeera Arabic television.
Noting that the interview took place on the day marking the 25th anniversary of the AK Party, President Erdoğan said: “Coming together on such a day is truly a special joy for us. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, inshallah, we will go on to celebrate many more quarter-centuries.”
Referring to the recently signed security-focused Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, President Erdoğan said:
“First of all, the Mecca agreement represented a different kind of transformation. The signing of this trilateral agreement in Mecca between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan became an opportunity for us to deliver an important message to the world. The fact that this agreement was concluded in Mecca and that we achieved it as three countries gave us additional strength and conveyed a separate message to the world. I believe that Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia all concluded this agreement with a high level of satisfaction. May it be beneficial.”
Stressing that the agreement was signed during a difficult period between the US and Iran, President Erdogan stressed that it conveyed an important message for world peace: "I call it an important message for world peace because Türkiye is a country that stands for peace, and the choice of Mecca has been an important step for this peace. During the process between Iran and the US, we consistently emphasised our support for peace. As countries pursuing such a process in favour of peace, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia have established themselves as advocates of peace. As advocates of peace, we will continue along this path in the period ahead as countries that pursue peace.”
When asked about the comparison between the Mecca Agreement and the collective defence provision under Article 5 of NATO, President Erdoğan said, "Let me put it this way. As you know, just as NATO’s Article 5 provides for collective defence, the collective defence understanding here similarly means that, should any difficulty arise, these three countries will have the opportunity to take the necessary steps together. Whether it concerns Türkiye, Saudi Arabia or Pakistan, if any one of these three countries comes under attack, since this is a collective defence pact, the three countries will be able to defend one another against any such attack.”
Commenting on the possibility of other countries joining the Mecca Agreement, President Erdoğan said: “Other countries may join these three at any time. It does not have to remain limited to Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan; other countries may also join us. We made this clear when we signed the agreement. We said, ‘If other countries wish to join in the period ahead, we welcome them,’ and that remains our position.
President Erdoğan said: “If Egypt wishes, it too can reach an agreement with these three countries, and the door is also open to Egypt.”
US-Israel war with Iran
Regarding the US-Israel war with Iran, President Erdoğan said that his hope was for peace to be achieved as soon as possible.
Drawing attention to the problems caused by the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, President Erdoğan said: “We need to reopen this traffic as soon as possible and restore the flow of global oil traffic without delay so that this abundant flow of oil around the world is not interrupted, inshallah. We are in favour of this, and Iran is likewise in favour of it. We hope that maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened free of charge; that would be a much more appropriate course of action. Making passage free of charge would be highly beneficial in terms of reopening traffic through the Strait.”
US-Israeli attacks on Iran and the Tehran administration’s attacks on Gulf states
Asked about Türkiye’s position on Tehran's attacks on the Gulf states following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, President Erdoğan said, ''We are absolutely not in favour of war in this region; we are in favour of peace. But Israel is the main actor in this war. Israel has consistently encouraged the war in this region and has taken a pro-war stance. Because of its pro-war stance, other countries have suffered significant consequences. Israel has been primarily responsible for this as well.''
''Inshallah, I will also visit Damascus as soon as possible''
Regarding the mediating role of Qatar and Pakistan in efforts to find a solution between the US and Iran, President Erdoğan said that both countries have undertaken important responsibilities in this regard and that he believes this will continue in the period ahead, stating, "We will all join hands and, above all, continue on our path by preserving our unity and solidarity as Muslims.''
President Erdoğan made the following remarks on relations with the new administration in Syria, led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and on Israel’s attacks on Syria:
''Our state institutions have very good relations with Syria, and we are maintaining this unity and solidarity. Syria is our brotherly country, and we will never leave Syria alone. During this process, Syria will see the care and attention of its brothers, so they should have no doubt."
Regarding the question about Türkiye’s support for Syria’s stability, President Erdoğan replied, ''We are doing whatever is required of Türkiye for Syria’s stability, and we will continue to do so to the fullest extent.''
On Türkiye’s role in the process that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, President Erdoğan said, ''Praise be to Allah, both President al-Sharaa and the relevant officials know this very well. We have done everything that was required of us to the fullest extent. We will continue to do so in the period ahead. Inshallah, I will also visit Damascus as soon as possible.''
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon
Commenting on Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s visit to Türkiye and relations between the two countries, President Erdoğan said, ''The attacks against Lebanon deeply sadden us. We had a meeting with Mr President on this matter. In the period ahead, we will continue to provide Lebanon with whatever support we can.''
President Erdoğan said that they attach importance to US support for the process in Lebanon, adding, ''We need to save Lebanon from this ring of fire by achieving this,'' and made the following remarks regarding Israel’s attacks on Lebanon:
"Currently, Israel is the aggressor. Lebanon is currently under constant Israeli attacks. We need to free Lebanon from these attacks as soon as possible. We have discussed this issue with the US, and we continue to do so. We also discussed it with Mr Trump during his visit to Türkiye. Of course, we will continue to discuss it with him in the period ahead."
''We cannot leave Gaza on its own''
Responding to a question about Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza, President Erdoğan said, "We cannot leave Gaza on its own.
We have fulfilled our responsibilities regarding Gaza to date, and we will continue to do so from now on."
Regarding Hamas’ recent agreement to adhere to the terms of the ceasefire, make concessions on the governance of Gaza, and accept the collection of its weapons in order to move to the second phase, President Erdoğan said, "Hamas has demonstrated all the sincere solidarity it can, but there has been no such positive approach from Israel. They continue to attack Lebanon and Gaza with their aggressive stance.''
Referring to his discussions with Trump regarding Israel, President Erdoğan said, ''I see that Trump is uncomfortable with these developments. We, for our part, are making all the necessary warnings in this regard. We will continue to do so in the period ahead.''
When asked about the hostile rhetoric towards Türkiye from Israeli politicians and in the media, President Erdoğan said, “Look, we are not discussing war with you; we are discussing peace. We are talking about how we can achieve peace around the world. But if anyone were to attack Türkiye with the intention of waging war rather than pursuing peace, Türkiye would not shy away from war or back down. Let me be absolutely clear on this. We would not want such a situation to arise."
Relations with Sudan
President Erdoğan also addressed Türkiye’s relations with Sudan, stating, “I am not optimistic about the developments in Sudan, but we continue to extend all possible support to the country. We also enjoy very good relations with the President in this regard. Sudan has, in fact, a moderate and exemplary system of governance. Mr President was our guest recently, and we held discussions with him. Under the circumstances, I consider Sudan’s leader truly worthy of leading the country."
Addressing developments in Libya, President Erdoğan said, ‘Our relations with Libya remain firmly on track. We will continue to stand by Libya in the steps taken. In particular, as the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, we have taken and continue to take steps towards jointly developing and making use of Libya’s oil reserves.”
US and Türkiye’s re-entry into the F-35 programme
Addressing relations between the United States and Türkiye, President Erdoğan said, “Naturally, we now expect President Trump to follow through on his commitment concerning the F-35 fighter jets. The President has given us his word on the F-35s, and it is important to Türkiye that he honour that commitment. We are now waiting for him to follow through.”
When asked about the key areas on the Türkiye–US agenda, President Erdoğan said, “There are many. We have projects relating to the defence industry, as well as steps we have taken to expand trade and further steps we plan to take."
President Erdoğan emphasised that Israel is not part of the Türkiye–US relationship, stating, "We have never, under any circumstances, brought Israel to the table in this context". Our counterpart in this regard is the United States. We discuss these matters with the United States and take our steps accordingly, and we will continue to do so," Erdoğan stated.
“Our relations with Russia are in good standing"
Speaking about the relations with Moscow, President Erdoğan said, “Our relations with Russia are in good standing. We maintain regular contact through telephone diplomacy. The relevant ministers on our side are in constant contact with their counterparts in Russia, and they likewise speak regularly with our ministers. This is how we maintain our dialogue."
President Erdoğan noted, “We have a strong military and a strong gendarmerie. Our military operates in a spirit of unity and solidarity in and of itself. The order and structure of our military, and the unity and solidarity with which it operates, are a source of genuine satisfaction for everyone. Our military stands united, in solidarity and as one, and it continues to move forward in this spirit. It has no involvement in politics."
“The European Union is not our priority"
Addressing questions concerning relations between Türkiye and the European Union (EU), President Erdoğan said:
"Europe has excluded Türkiye for 53 years and does not appear to intend to admit us in the near future either. But we have not closed our door. We still consider joining the EU. It’s all right in either case. The EU is not our priority, but we keep telling them, "You'll be the ones to lose out, not Türkiye."
President Erdoğan said, “Keep following the AK Party government in Türkiye. With the AK Party, Türkiye is heading towards a much stronger future, and no one should have any doubts about it. Inshallah, Türkiye will move into the future with far greater strength and steadfastly continue on its path. Türkiye will have a very different standing when it comes to global peace."
Calling on the Arab world, President Erdoğan said, "I extend my greetings and warm regards to all of them. We have affection for them all. We are one; we stand together, and together we are strong. Let us not hurt or offend one another; let us continue to stand together.”