Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Delivering remarks following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting, President Erdoğan said: “Just as setting a church, a synagogue or a place of worship of another faith on fire is not freedom, there can be no such freedom as burning the Holy Quran, either.”

“Türkiye plays a determining role in the resolution of crises”

Drawing attention to the recent Eid al-Adha, Erdoğan noted that he spoke by phone with the leaders of 21 countries on the occasion of the Eid.

Underscoring that every issue that concerns the global security, from the Russia-Ukraine war to the conflict in Sudan, shows that Türkiye’s contribution is further sought, President Erdoğan said: “Our country plays a determining role in the resolution of crises with its balanced, just and assuring stance. The importance of the efforts exerted under the guidance of our country to establish peace is further understood each passing day. The Russia-Ukraine war, which has come to a complete deadlock, is the clearest and unfortunately the bitterest example of this.”

“Istanbul process was a historic opportunity that would end this merciless war. If that opportunity, which had provided the parties with the opportunity of a dignified exit, had been seized, the destruction and the tears experienced so far would not happen at all. The diplomatic efforts, which started with the Istanbul process and continued with exchange of prisoners, have unfortunately been hindered and undermined by the war lobby, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have paid the price of this,” Erdoğan stated.

“We have endeavored to establish peace”

Further stressing that they as Türkiye have been for a while the target of this war lobby, Erdoğan continued as follows: “Those who are uncomfortable with the balanced policy our country has been following have put intense pressure on our government. We, as has always been the case, have stood tall against those who have used opposition parties as a tool of pressure. The opposition’s candidate’s allegations aimed at igniting a crisis between us and Russia were a part of this scenario. Not a single concrete evidence could be brought forward regarding these allegations that undermine not only Türkiye’s interests but also the Turkish democracy. After the allegations were proven wrong, no statement, which would satisfy the public and clear the clouds of doubt, has yet to be made by the opposition so as to why such a provocation was attempted in the atmosphere of the elections. In the past one and a half years, we have been faced with such numerous provocations and malevolent attempts as this that have been aimed at causing trouble to Türkiye. We as the government have not paid heed to any of this, and have not allowed the spark of the fire in our region to spread to Türkiye. We have endeavored to establish peace instead of fueling the war. We are the only country that still holds talks with both Russia and Ukraine at the same time, keeps the dialogue channels open, and develops solution offers to urgent problems. We maintain our close contact with the Presidents of both countries. We assume initiative in every incident that has the risk of deepening the conflict. We will inshallah preserve our balanced stance from now on as well. We will continue our diplomatic efforts until peace prevails in the vicinity of Türkiye.”

“Violence has begotten violence”

Also touching upon the Quran burning incident in Sweden, Erdoğan noted: “Just as setting a church, a synagogue or a place of worship of another faith on fire is not freedom, there can be no such freedom as burning the Holy Quran, either. Those who do not recognize the law when it comes to their own security suddenly remember the freedom of thought when it comes to the sacred values of Muslims.

Violence has begotten violence, and that has triggered the incidents today. As has been the case throughout history, those who sow the wind, reap the whirlwind today as well. We hope that these recent incidents, which we find worrisome, may end as soon as possible without further bloodshed and before this spiral of violence grows bigger. We are worried that these incidents will lead to new wave of pressure, intimidation and suppression against migrants and Muslims.

Everyone should acknowledge that Türkiye’s friendship cannot be won by allocating city squares to terrorists. Everyone should already acknowledge that Türkiye’s friendship cannot be won by creating a space for terrorists and allocating city squares to them.” (ILKHA)