President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke during AK Party's Group Meeting held at party headquarters.

Describing the problems Turkey has recently been dealing with as being related to each other, President Erdoğan said: "There is no need for me to say what is behind terrorist organizations."

"There is YPG/PYD in northern Syria. Aren’t they PKK’s extension? Who gives them the biggest support? Our strategic partner. Did they send thousands of truckloads of weapons, ammunition, and everything there? They did. What else should we talk about?"

Also touching upon the tensions over hydrocarbon exploration activities in East Mediterranean, President Erdoğan, underscoring that it is one of the economic traps set against Turkey, said Turkey has four ships for hydrocarbon exploration and drilling activities, and that the works are securely carried out under the surveillance of the Turkish Naval Forces.

President Erdoğan pointed out that Turkey will protect its and Turkish Cypriots' rights in line with the International Maritime Law once hydrocarbon is found.

President Erdoğan noted that as a guarantor country, Turkey will protect to the end its rights in all exclusive economic zones in East Mediterranean and allow no one to usurp the rights of its Turkish sisters and brothers therein.

"Turkey has already purchased S-400 defense systems"

Referring to the S-400 air defense systems, President Erdoğan highlighted that Turkey has already bought them.

"We have finished it. And, inshallah, they will be delivered to our country next month," said Turkish President.

"This is not an offense but a defense system. Aren’t we supposed to take the necessary measures to protect our country? Are we to consult anyone about it?" he added.

Recalling that Turkey also wanted to buy such defense systems from the U.S., President Erdoğan stated that the U.S. said that the Congress would not allow and did not supply them.

Also mentioning the F-35 project, President Erdoğan, underscoring that Turkey is not just a buyer of F-35 jets but also a production partner to the project, noted that Turkey has thus far paid 1.25 billion dollars for the project.

Further stressing that Turkey will raise at every platform the issue of its being excluded from the project without any rational reasons, President Erdoğan added that the relevant officials already hold the necessary talks with their counterparts, and that he will also have a meeting with Trump in Japan late June and will talk these issues face to face with him. (ILKHA)