Delivering remarks following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting, President Erdoğan, in reference to the recent incidents concerning refugees, said: “Public order is our state’s red line. We will not allow this red line to be infringed or violated under any excuse.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex.
“UNLESS ISRAEL'S AGGRESSION IS STOPPED, NO STATE CAN FEEL SAFE”
Drawing attention to the strategic location of Türkiye at the intersection of three continents, President Erdoğan said: “The Syrian crisis, in its 13th year, has affected our region the most. We are also one of the top regions to feel the negative repercussions of the war between Russia and Ukraine. The massacres Israel has been committing in Gaza since October 7, amounting to genocide, wounds our hearts. The warming waters in the Eastern Mediterranean because of Israel’s attacks on Gaza worry us and the brotherly countries in the region the most. We see that Israel, supported by Western powers militarily, diplomatically and politically, has set its eyes on the neighboring countries. The increase in the attacks and the threatening language towards Lebanon seriously concern us for the future of our region.”
Underlining that as long as the Western world backs him and the Islamic world remains silent, the murderer called Netanyahu will continue his policies of occupation at the cost of engulfing the entire region in fire, President Erdoğan stated: “We as Türkiye have been highlighting this point since day one. We have repeatedly warned that the Gaza crisis will not be limited only to Gaza and that Israel’s oppression will have much graver consequences. We have stressed at every platform that Israel has expansionist goals. Both the missile tension in Iran and Israel’s escalating attacks on Lebanon have unfortunately vindicated our concerns. I have to repeat my warning. We are faced with a murderer who cannot meet even the minimum requirements of being a statesman, who has gone mad and become a slave to his ambitions, and who has lost his mind and conscience. Unless Israel’s aggression under the Netanyahu administration is stopped, no country in the region including Türkiye can feel safe. That is so for all the countries, particularly for Israel’s neighbors Lebanon and Syria. As I have stated before, we cannot see the security of Gaza, al-Quds, Ramallah, Beirut, Amman or Baghdad as different from the security of Ankara. That is how we set and determine our security priorities. We also plan our steps in foreign policy in line with these facts.”
“TÜRKİYE IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE A STATE THAT ABANDONS ITS FRIENDS”
“President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “We are going through days when we must embrace dialogue and diplomacy at the highest level. It is essential for us to strengthen the basis of mutual dialogue particularly with the countries with which we share the same geography and same destiny. Given the current regional and international conjecture, it is of utmost importance for us to enhance the solidarity among Islamic countries and address the differences of opinion. We cannot allow the past to hinder the future. In this spirit, we work to advance our relations with all the actors in the region. We have witnessed the concrete outcomes of this efforts on numerous issues. Also, we have worked hard to find a political solution to the conflict that has been raging for over 13 years and cost over 1 million lives in Syria. We have brought together the regime and the opposition together on the same basis through the Astana process. In addition, we have strived to prevent more bloodshed and more conflicts through other channels. We have also obtained positive outcomes in the field on various issues.”
Stressing that it is possible to take further steps to contribute to peace and calm, President Erdoğan said: “We don’t have designs on anyone’s lands or sovereignty. Türkiye’s priority is the protection of Syria’s territorial integrity and national unity. It is Türkiye that has dealt the heaviest blow to DAESH as well as to the terror state tried to be established by means of the PKK along our southern borders. That is so because we want to see a democratic, prosperous and strong Syria as our neighbor rather than a Syria plagued by instability and terrorist states. We desire it more than anyone else that Syria can become a safe harbor for millions of people who had had to leave their homes. The sooner such a climate is established, the better for all, the better particularly for the Syrian people. We seek to enlarge the common ground instead of deepening the differences. We believe that there is great benefit in unclenching the fists in foreign policy as well as in domestic politics. We don’t shy away from talking with whoever is necessary for this purpose, just as we did in the past. We will for sure pursue Türkiye’s interests while doing so; yet, we will never let down those who trusted and relied on us throughout this process. Türkiye is not and will not be a state that abandons its friends.”
“WE WILL NOT GIVE INTO HATE SPEECH AND RACIST VANDALISM”
Noting that the Turkish nation will never turn a blind eye to the occurrence of incidents that are incompatible with its faith, culture and civilization, President Erdoğan went onto say: “Public order is our state’s red line. We will not allow this red line to be infringed or violated under any excuse. We are immune to plots to create chaos through streets. We clearly remember the prices our country was made to pay by the hands of agents of influence and provocateurs in the past. This time, the same chaos plot was cooked up in Kayseri through an extremely disgusting and egregious case of abuse in Kayseri. The second act of this plot was staged against the Turkish presence and interests in the north of Syria. We know very well who hatched this plot and who acted as pawns in it, which was created using the remnants of the separatist terrorist organization and their accomplices. Neither we, nor our nation, nor our Syrian brothers will fall into this insidious trap. Let me once again underline that we will not give into hate speech, fascism, racist vandalism, and provocations.”
https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/152851/-we-will-not-allow-the-public-order-to-be-violated-
