President Erdoğan: "We must enter into a very different process in our region with the countries with which we share the same beliefs and thoughts. This is a process of making friends, not making enemies."
On the plane back from Saudi Arabia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered journalists' questions on the agenda and said, "(With Saudi Arabia) we agreed that we need to reactivate a great economic potential with organisations that will bring together both countries' businesspeople and investors."
Expressing that they successfully completed their visit upon the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, President Erdoğan said, "On the first day of our visit, we met with both King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. We reviewed all the issues on our agenda, as well as all aspects of our bilateral relations with them. We exchanged views on regional and international issues."
Stating that they are concentrating on joint steps that can be taken to improve Turkish-Saudi relations in the upcoming period, President Erdoğan continued:
"In this context, I reiterated our support for the security and stability of Saudi Arabia. I highlighted that we don't consider the Gulf region's security as a distinct issue from our own. The rapid recovery of our trade, the elimination of customs problems, the promotion of our investments, and new projects that our contractors can undertake in the same way constituted our main issues from a bilateral perspective. We discussed how we could help the defence industry, as well. Inevitably, we also discussed the problems of our citizens and companies in Saudi Arabia. We agreed that we need to reactivate a great economic potential with organisations that will bring together both countries' businesspeople and investors. Saudi Arabia is a candidate for the 2030 EXPO, as well. We, as Türkiye, declared that we would support them in this regard. We also promised to support them in organising EXPO 2030 in Riyadh."
"I made it clear that we value tourism promotion highly"
Stating his satisfaction with the return to mutually scheduled flights, President Erdoğan said, "I made it clear that we value tourism promotion highly. Our citizens will be able to perform their Hajj and Umrah prayers this year thanks to the Saudi authorities' easing of pandemic measures. A quota has already been announced for Hajj. In Umrah, there is no such quota. The door to Umrah is wide open."
Remarking he believes his visit will usher in a new era in the relations between the two countries, President Erdoğan said, "At the clearest and highest level, we have demonstrated our common will to develop our relations based on mutual respect and trust. We are determined to continue this effort for our common interests and the stability of our region. I hope that our joint efforts with Saudi Arabia will be auspicious for both countries and the region at large. I wish Ramadan, the month of peace, friendship and solidarity, would serve the strengthening of peace, stability, cohesion, and the climate of love across the Islamic geography."
Stating that they received great affection and affinity from Saudi Arabia during the visit, President Erdoğan heartily thanked all Saudi authorities in the person of King Salman for their sincere hospitality.
President Erdoğan prayed that the approaching Eid al-Fitr would bring health, peace and abundance to Türkiye, the Islamic world and all humanity and congratulated the citizens' bairam.
"We need to be producers and find new markets together"
In answer to a journalist’s questions, "Saudi Arabia and Iran have held discussions in Baghdad for the past few months. This was important. Furthermore, how do you evaluate Iran’s rapprochement with Türkiye in this context? We also have a defence industry that is 80% self-sufficient. Do the two countries share a model in this regard?" President Erdoğan called to mind that the High-Level Strategic Council meeting with Iran had not been held yet.
Stating that there is a problem between the Gulf Region and Iran, President Erdoğan went on to say:
"The Yemeni issue, in particular, is a major issue of division here. Then there's the issue of the Houthis. Saudi Arabia's sensitivity to this issue persists for the time being. Nevertheless, although we have certain common concerns, we are continuing our High-Level Strategic Council Meeting and will continue to do so. There is no problem here. We, however, agreed that there could be certain joint steps taken with Saudi Arabia, particularly in the defence industry. While these steps may be mutual in our country or Saudi Arabia, it is also possible to take such steps in third countries. We have the technology; they have the capital. Therefore, it is possible to take such steps by integrating technology and capital. It is time to cease being a market. We need to be producers, and in addition to being a producer, we need to find new markets together. We agreed on that as well."
"We are in solidarity with the people in Syria"
When asked, "Can this visit serve as a starting point for resolving regional crises and wars in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and most notably, Syria? Can we evaluate this matter in this manner? Because Türkiye has taken on a significant peace mission in the Ukraine-Russia war. The peoples of the region most eagerly await Türkiye's participation in such a peace mission. Can Türkiye lead the way in ending the crises in the Middle East with this mission?" regarding his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Erdoğan responded:
"Of course, we can. There's no reason why we should not do it because we have a lot in common with Middle Eastern countries. Above all, the people and the government of these countries are Muslim. Currently, the administration in Iraq is in solidarity with us, and our negotiations are progressing positively. I hope that, in collaboration with this Iraqi administration, we will continue to take positive steps toward regional peace. In Syria, the situation is somewhat different. We are in solidarity with the people in Syria. We will take joint steps with them as well. As you are aware, we have won and are winning the hearts of the people in a significant way through the briquette houses we have constructed as Türkiye in the north of Syria."
Hoping that the government in Iraq will be declared as soon as possible, President Erdoğan stated, "There is a duality there: the situation in Northern Iraq and the central government. Our talks with the parties continue through our intelligence agencies. Inshallah, the result will also be positive."
When asked whether a similar situation, such as the start of high-level contacts with the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, is in question with Egypt and whether the issue has come to the fore in Jeddah, President Erdoğan replied:
"As a matter of fact, this issue did not come up on our agenda in Jeddah. However, there is also this fact. That is, we have a policy regarding Israel. It is also possible to have such a policy with Egypt. We already have low-level relations with Egypt; even further, the relations between our intelligence agencies are still ongoing. The relations between our businesspeople are ongoing. Positive results show that these steps can be taken at a higher level."
"Excesses are the source of our troubles"
In response to the question, "Can you provide an assessment of this process and its results in terms of Türkiye's relations with NATO and France?" referencing the completion of the second round of elections in France on April 24, President Erdoğan said:
"In fact, the elimination of extremists in the French election and their loss is a win for our entire world because excesses are the source of our troubles. I think Macron led a smart policy. It turned out that those who were against Macron could not analyse the structure of France and its sociological structure well. In short, the very clear demonstration of their Islamophobia, their extreme attitudes towards the headscarf and their practices towards Muslims brought Macron to the forefront in the second round.
Mr Macron's approach and success in the recent television programme, in my opinion, ultimately elevated him to the first spot in the election and helped him win it. Just before the election, we had a private conversation with him for about an hour at the NATO meeting. We discussed how we would plan Türkiye-France relations and the steps we would take in the coming period. Inshallah, as a result of this election, our relations will improve significantly."
"Even if it gets precarious, one should not break all ties"
In response to the question, "What kind of a paradigm shift has occurred with the reconciliation process with Egypt and Israel, as well as with Türkiye's recent foreign policy attack, that is, with the successful management of our difficult relations with Russia and with rapidly repairing our deteriorating relations? How and why did Türkiye take these steps? What kind of a policy are we pursuing here?" President Erdoğan said:
"Because Türkiye is a pivotal country in the region in terms of relations with Egypt and Israel, completely breaking ties will not benefit us. Our approach is always the same, 'Even if it gets precarious, one should not break all ties. We should maintain some ties just in case we need that relationship someday.' With this understanding, we do not wish to break these ties between us. Of course, Israel needs Türkiye. We need to be realistic, we also need it in terms of the situation in the region and the plans toward peace. We wanted to take these steps in this way. Our steps thus far appear to be appropriate.
Of course, the fact that Israel is led by a President like Mr Herzog has aided in the establishment of a path toward peace in these relations. We hope that we will improve the relations with the Prime Minister as well. Of course, the disturbances caused by some Israeli extremist and radical groups in the Masjid al-Aqsa during the month of Ramadan seriously irritated us as well. We also told Mr Herzog that their Passover and our holy month coincided; we said, 'Inshallah, this period will be much quieter; it will be much calmer.' But unfortunately, it did not turn out as we wanted, we experienced difficulties again. We hope we don't run into any more difficulties in the future."