The Turkish President: We plan to raise our missile stockpile to deterrence level

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a televised speech, Monday, following the weekly government cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara, that Türkiye is developing production plans to raise its stockpile of medium- and long-range missiles to deterrence levels.

Erdoğan pointed to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war, which has exhausted both sides, and the continued threat of tension between India and Pakistan.

He also highlighted the pain caused by Israel’s genocide in Gaza and its reckless actions in Syria and Lebanon.

He added, “Now, Israel itself is launching an attack on our neighbor, Iran… It becomes clearer by the day that the attack, launched under the pretext of targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, has very malicious and comprehensive objectives”.

He continued, “We emphasized from the beginning that discussions regarding the Iranian nuclear program should take place at the negotiating table, and we remain committed to our position”.

The Turkish president noted that he and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have been making intensive diplomatic efforts since Friday to end the conflict between Israel and Iran.

He stated that he had held calls with US President Donald Trump, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Meshal al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani.

He explained that during his contacts, he drew attention to the threats and dangers posed by the Israeli aggression to the entire region.

He added, “We stated that the problem could be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue, and we clearly conveyed to all our interlocutors Türkiye’s readiness to fulfill its obligations, including the role of mediator”.

Erdoğan emphasized that resorting to resolving issues that can be resolved through dialogue through the use of weapons, destruction, bloodshed, chaos, and the bombing of everything without distinction between civilians and soldiers is unpredictable.

He stated that Israel, which destroyed Gaza and is rampaging against the countries of the region, may realize its mistake in the future, but by then it will be too late.

Erdoğan pointed out that every incident in the region concerns and impacts all societies, due to deep-rooted ties spanning thousands of years.

He continued, “The attack on the Palestinian people and their land isn’t an incident limited to a few million there, just as the attack on the Iranian people and their land isn’t an incident that concerns the Iranian state alone”.

He continued, “Every step taken in our region without taking these facts into account portends further disasters in the future, and these disasters usually lead to the demise of the oppressors”.