Türkiye has 'no luxury' to watch developments in region from 'tribunes': President Erdogan

ISTANBUL

As the global power competition takes place in our region, Türkiye is directly affected by every development and does not have the "luxury to watch it from the tribunes," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.

"We must be prepared for every potential scenario and manage and direct events in our region in a way that benefits our country," Erdogan said while addressing an iftar event at the presidential complex in Ankara.

Türkiye is located at the heart of three continents, offering unique strategic opportunities but also bears its challenges, Erdogan said.

"During the days when the genocide network announced its intentions to divide our region with new maps, we must align our policies accordingly. With God's permission, we will not allow Zionists to carry out new operations in our region,” he said.

On Syria, Erdogan said Türkiye did "what was right, moral, and conscientious" in the neighboring country.

Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, as many as 133,000 of "our Syrian guests have voluntarily and honorably returned" to their homeland, Erdogan said.

"The number of our brothers and sisters who have safely returned to Syria has reached 873,000," he added.

"As order and stability strengthen in Syria, hopefully, this number will increase. As I mentioned before, we will not force anyone, but we will provide the necessary facilitation for our brothers and sisters who wish to return,” he added.

Pointing out Türkiye's counterterrorism efforts, Erdogan said Ankara is "closer than ever" to permanently and definitively freeing the nation from terrorism "that has exploited people’s blood, lives, and resources for 40 years."

Noting that a similar situation is seen in Gaza, where, despite all the pressures from the “global Zionist lobby during the 471-day genocide and massacre,” Erdogan said that Ankara boldly stood by “its brothers and sisters.”

"In the end, Türkiye is one of the few countries that passed the test of humanity in Gaza with its head held high,” he added.

“Today, while many countries cannot even look the Palestinian people in the face, we are honored by the sincere prayers of our Gazan brothers and sisters. In the Russia-Ukraine war, we again faced similar choices. While almost everyone was fueling the war, we stood for peace. Now, you see, almost all those who criticized us in the past are now forced to acknowledge the balanced policies of our government. Whether they are our rivals or friends, almost everyone is acknowledging that Türkiye made very correct and foresighted move in critical times,” the Turkish president added.