President Erdoğan made evaluations about the agenda in his interview with Doha-based Al Jazeera Arabic television.
Stating that he gave the interview on the day of the AK Party's 25th anniversary celebrations, Erdoğan said, "It is truly a special happiness for us to come together on such a day. I hope we will walk to many more quarter centuries with the 25th anniversary celebrations." he said.
Referring to the security-oriented Mecca Joint Defense Agreement recently signed between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said:
"First of all, the Mecca Agreement was a different change. The signing of this tripartite agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in Mecca allowed us to send an important message to the world. The signing of this agreement in Mecca and the realization of this agreement as a tripartite has given us a special strength and a separate message to the world. In this regard, I believe that both Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have left this agreement with great satisfaction. Good luck."
Emphasizing that the signing of such an agreement in a troubled period between the USA and Iran constitutes an important message for world peace, Erdoğan said, "I call it an important message for world peace because Turkey is a country that takes a stance in favor of peace, and the selection of Mecca has been an important step for this peace. As supporters of peace in the process between Iran and the USA, we constantly emphasized this and explained that we are always in favor of peace. As countries that especially pursue such a process in favor of peace, we, Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, took our place as the defenders of this peace. Defenders of peace." "As countries that pursue peace, we will continue on this path in the future." he said.
Asked about the similarity of the Mecca Agreement to the defense element in Article 5 of NATO, Erdoğan said, "Let me put it this way. Just like what Article 5 of NATO includes, the common defense understanding here is also in case of any problem, these three countries will have the opportunity to take the necessary steps together. This could happen to Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, no matter which of them, if any attack happens to one of these three countries, there is a common defense pact. "These three countries have the chance to defend each other against all kinds of attacks." he said.
In his assessment of the participation of other countries in the Mecca Agreement, Erdoğan said, "Apart from these three countries, there may be countries that can join these three countries at any time. Not only Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, but also some additional countries can join us. We explained this when we signed the agreement, 'If there are some countries that will join in the next period, our door is open to them as well.' We said and kept the door open." he said.
President Erdoğan said, "If Egypt wishes, it can make an agreement between these three countries and open its doors to Egypt." he said.
War between USA-Israel and Iran:
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that his wish regarding the war between the USA-Israel and Iran is for peace to occur as soon as possible.
Pointing out that it is a problem for the Strait of Hormuz to remain closed, Erdoğan said, "We need to open this traffic as soon as possible and hopefully not stop this rich flow in the world's oil traffic by opening the world oil traffic in a short time. We are in favor of this, Iran is also in favor of this. Our hope is that if the maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is opened free of charge, it will be much more accurate. Being free of charge will be very beneficial in terms of opening the traffic here." made his assessment.
US-Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran administration's attacks on Gulf countries
Asked about Türkiye's attitude towards Tehran's attacks on the Gulf countries following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, Erdoğan said: "We are definitely not in favor of war here, we are in favor of peace, but Israel is the main actor of this war here. Israel has constantly encouraged war here, has been in favor of war. Other countries have paid a high price here for being in favor of war. Israel has been the main responsible for this." he said.
"Hopefully, I WILL TAKE A TRIP TO DAMASCUS AS SOON"
Regarding the mediating role of Qatar and Pakistan in the effort to find a solution between the USA and Iran, Erdoğan said that both countries have undertaken important duties in this regard and that he believes this will continue in the future.
Erdoğan said, "We will all join hands, and above all, we will continue our way by preserving our unity and solidarity as Muslims." he said.
President Erdoğan stated the following regarding the relations with the new administration in Syria led by President Ahmed Shara and Israel's attacks on Syria:
"Syria and our state mechanisms have a very good relationship, we continue this unity, this solidarity. Syria is our brother, we will never leave Syria alone. In this process, Syria will see the interest and interest of its brothers in it, they should not worry at all."
Asked about Türkiye's support for the stability of Syria, Erdoğan said: "We are doing whatever it takes for Türkiye to ensure the stability there, and we will continue to do so." he replied.
Regarding Türkiye's role in the process leading to the overthrow of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, Erdogan said, "Alhamdulillah, both President Shara and the relevant friends know this very well. We did our part to the end. We will continue to do so in the next period. I hope to make a trip to Damascus as soon as possible." he said.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon
Evaluating Lebanese President Joseph Avn's visit to Turkey and the relations between the two countries, Erdoğan said, "These attacks against Lebanon seriously upset us. We had our meeting with Mr. President here. We will continue to provide whatever support we can to Lebanon in the future." he said.
Erdoğan stated that they attach importance to the US support for the process in Lebanon and said, "By achieving this, we need to save Lebanon from this ring of fire." he said.
Erdoğan said the following regarding Israel's attacks on Lebanon:
"Currently, Israel is the aggressor. Lebanon is currently under constant Israeli attacks. We need to save Lebanon from these attacks as soon as possible. We discussed this issue with the USA and continue to do so. We also discussed this issue with Mr. Trump during his visit to Türkiye. Of course, we will continue to discuss this issue with him in the coming period."
"WE CANNOT LEAVE GAZA ALONE"
Responding to a question about Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza, Erdoğan said, "We cannot leave Gaza alone. Whatever our duty is, we have done so far regarding Gaza, and we will continue to do so from now on." made his assessment.
Regarding Hamas's recent acceptance to adhere to the articles of the ceasefire, to make concessions from the administration in Gaza, and to collect its weapons in order to move on to its second phase, Erdoğan said, "Here, Hamas has demonstrated all the sincere solidarity it could, but there is no such positive approach from Israel. They still continue to attack Lebanon and Gaza with their aggressive attitude." he said.
Referring to his meetings with Trump regarding Israel, Erdoğan said, "I see that Trump is disturbed by these developments. We are making all kinds of warnings at this point. We will continue to make these warnings in the future." he said.
When asked about the aggressive attitude of Israeli politicians and the media towards Türkiye, Erdoğan said, "Look, we are not talking about war with you, we are talking about peace, we are talking about how we can ensure world peace, but if there are those who attack Türkiye for war rather than peace, Turkey will not shy away from this war, and I say this very clearly. We do not want to experience such a thing." he said.
- Relations with Sudan
Referring to the relations with Sudan, President Erdoğan said, "I do not see the developments in Sudan as good, but I continue to provide all kinds of support to Sudan. Our relations with Mr. President are also very good regarding this issue. There is a truly moderate and ideal form of government in Sudan. Mr. President was our guest recently and we had meetings with him. I truly saw the leader of Sudan as a leader worthy of Sudan at this stage." he said.
Regarding the developments in Libya, Erdoğan said, "Our relations with Libya continue determinedly. We will not leave Libya alone in the steps taken. As Turkish Petroleum, we have taken and continue to take steps, especially in evaluating Libya's oil reserves together." made his assessment.
-US and Türkiye's re-participation in the F-35 program
Regarding relations with the USA, Erdoğan said, "Currently, of course, we expect Mr. Trump to fulfill his promise regarding the F-35 aircraft. He has promised us about the F-35s, and the fulfillment of this promise is important for Turkey. We are waiting for this promise." he said.
Asked about the most important files between Türkiye and the USA, Erdoğan said, "There are many files. There are files related to the defense industry. In addition, there are steps we have taken regarding the trade volume. There are steps we will take." he said.
Emphasizing that Israel is not included in Turkey-US relations, Erdoğan said, "We have never included Israel on the table here. Our interlocutor here is America. We are and will take steps by discussing these issues with America." he said.
- "Our relations with Russia are very good"
Regarding his relations with Moscow, Erdoğan said, "Our relations with Russia are very good. We continue our relations with telephone diplomacy. My relevant minister friends constantly call their counterparts in Russia, and they call my relevant ministers. Thus, we continue our meetings." he said.
President Erdoğan said, "We have a strong army, we have a strong gendarmerie. This army is currently acting in unity and solidarity within itself. This order and establishment of our army, which acts in this unity and solidarity, truly makes everyone happy. Our army is one, together, whole and continues its way in this way. Our soldiers have nothing to do with politics." he said.
"OUR PRIORITY FOR US IS NOT THE EUROPEAN UNION"
Answering questions about the relations between the European Union (EU) and Türkiye, Erdoğan said:
"Europe has not included Türkiye for 53 years and is not planning to include it in the next period, but we have not closed our doors. We are considering joining the European Union again. If they accept it, it is fine, if they do not, it is fine. For us, our priority is not the European Union, but we constantly tell the European Union, you will be the loser, Türkiye will not."
Erdoğan said, "Continue to follow the AK Party government in Türkiye. With the AK Party, Turkey will move towards a much stronger future, no one should worry or doubt about it. I hope Turkey will enter the future much stronger and will walk in a stronger way. Türkiye's position in world peace will be much different." he said.
Addressing the Arab world, Erdogan said, "I send my greetings and love to all of them. We love them all. We are one, we are together, we are big, let's not break each other, let's not offend each other, let's continue to be together." he said.
