Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country is waiting for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to take a step to improve relations with it, so that it responds ‘appropriately.’
Erdogan added in a press statement today, Sunday, on the plane during his return from the German capital, Berlin, after attending the match between Turkey and the Netherlands, in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship (Euro 2024): We have now reached a stage whereby as soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step to improve relations with Turkey, we will respond appropriately.”
He explained that Russian President Vladimir Putin has an approach regarding the meeting between Erdogan and Al-Assad, and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani also has an approach.
Erdogan said: ‘We are talking here about mediation, so why not do it with our neighbor Syria?’
He added: “We will direct our invitation to Assad, and it may be at any moment, and we hope to restore Turkish-Syrian relations to what they were in the
past.”
Regarding the Israeli aggression against Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the need for Israel to abandon its intention to spread conflict in the region.
Erdogan said: “Israel must abandon its intention to spread conflict in the region, and Western countries, especially the United States, must abandon support for Israel in this regard, stressing the need to put pressure on Israel, which persists in its aggression and continues the massacres.”
Erdogan referred to “talks that took place between the head of the Mossad and officials from the Hamas movement in Doha, during which some positive steps were taken that envisage a permanent ceasefire.”
He added: “They say that a ceasefire could happen at any moment, meaning that good news may reach us at any moment from there, but it all depends on the positions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
Erdogan stressed that Turkey is the country that calls the loudest that these conflicts must end, and that the two-state solution on
the 1967 borders will guarantee lasting peace.
Regarding Masoud Pezeshkian’s victory in the Iranian elections yesterday, Saturday, Erdogan said, ‘The new Iranian president is a Turk of Azerbaijani origin, and I will call him to congratulate him on the victory upon my return, and we hope that Turkish-Iranian relations will improve in the future.’
He added: “Turkey is the country that has the best relations with Iran in the region, and Iran is an important neighbor with which we have historical and cultural relations, and I expect bilateral relations between our two countries to develop at an increasing pace in the coming period.”
When asked about the election results in Britain, the Turkish president commented that “the policies implemented by the Conservative Party in Britain, and the economic difficulties that the country experienced, were the most important reasons why Rishi Sunak and his party lost the elections.”
Erdogan indicated that he would call the leader of the British Labor Party, Keir Starmer,
to congratulate him on his party’s victory in the parliamentary elections, stressing that the bilateral relations between Turkey and the United Kingdom are “very deep-rooted.”
He said: “During our period in power, we worked with prime ministers from the Labor Party and the Conservative Party. The important thing is to work in line with the common interests of the two countries.”
He added: “In the coming period, we will continue to develop our relations with our ally, Britain, in all fields. We have important items on the agenda before us, and we intend to advance the positive path in our relations.”
In response to journalists’ question about the punishment imposed on Turkish player Merih Demiral, Erdogan criticized the West’s approach in terms of mentality as “it has never changed until today,” he said.
He said: ‘The punishment they imposed on the Turkish player Merih Demiral (due to the gray wolf signal) was decided from the first moment.’
He wondered if the issue was to punish the ‘gray wolf’ sign. The
Germans have an eagle, so do they punish the eagle? No, and the French have roosters. Do you punish the French by saying: ‘Why do you have roosters?’ no. This punishment that Merih received is not for him personally, but rather it is a punishment for the structure of Turkey as a nation.
Yesterday evening, Saturday, Erdogan headed to Berlin to attend the match between Turkey and the Netherlands, in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championship (Euro 2024).
Source: National Iraqi News Agency