Erdoğan: Türkiye has become a country that sets the rules and many are knocking on its door
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed, on Tuesday, that his country has become a “state that sets the rules of the game, putting its mark on international relations”.
In a speech to the participants in the fourteenth conference of Turkish ambassadors at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Erdoğan said, ” Türkiye, which is located in the heart of three continents, cannot watch the events from the stands to be strong in the field and at the table isn’t an option for us, but rather a necessity”.
He added, “Our concern is to protect Türkiye’s interests by using all diplomatic capabilities and all elements of the hard and soft powers”.
The Turkish president pointed out that the efforts and campaigns of the AKP governments over the past 21 years stand behind the rise of Turkish diplomacy at the global level.
He stated that Türkiye has become a country that sets the rules of the game and puts its mark on international relations, and everyone knocks on its door on many important issues, and its position closely followed.
He noted that Türkiye’s intervention on the side of the legitimate government in Libya prevented the division of this country.
He added, “Thanks to our solidarity with Azerbaijan, the Karabakh region was liberated after 30 years of occupation, and an important opportunity to establish lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus has emerged.
Erdoğan continued, “Our operations in northern Syria, in addition to guaranteeing the security of our southern states, thwarted dreams of establishing a terrorist state”.
He added, “Our operations will continue until we eradicate the scourge of terrorism that threatens the territorial integrity of Türkiye and Iraq”.
Erdoğan pointed out that Türkiye, through the operations it’s carrying out in coordination with the Iraqi authorities, is inflicting the most severe blows on the separatist terrorist organization (PKK) in its history.
Erdoğan indicated that the greater the stability in Iraq and Syria, the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees will accelerate.
He stressed that the new housing projects that Türkiye has begun to implement in northern Syria will encourage more refugees to return to their homes.
Erdoğan also stressed Türkiye’s keenness to increase the number of its friends more, and said, “We don’t have an issue with anyone that cannot be resolved, especially our neighbors”.
Our goal in the new period, which we symbolize with Türkiye’s century, is to establish a belt of peace, stability and prosperity around our country,” he said, noting that dialogue and diplomacy will be the two most important tools in this regard.
He added, “We’re ready to meet and talk to everyone and reach a common point through mutual steps”.
