Speaking at the opening session of the 4th Legislative Year of the 27th Term of the GNAT, Erdoğan said: “We primarily opt for a settlement of disputes regarding the sharing of political and economic potential in the Mediterranean on an equitable basis. However, the attitude of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side since 2003 has unfortunately been far from this principle.”

Erdoğan said: “I wish the 4th Legislative Year of the 27th Term of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to be auspicious for our country, our nation, this great institution, and all of Members of Parliament.”

“The better we know our history and the better we protect it, the more confidently we can look to our future”

Being aware of the fact that this struggle will continue until the end of the world, we will always be prepared, always be strong, and always be cautious. We attach importance to symbolic anniversaries, such as the 100th anniversary of our Republic, the 600th anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul, and the 1000th anniversary of the Victory of Manzikert, to keep the spiritual and material legacy of our ancestors alive. The better we know our history and the better we protect it, the more confidently we can look to our future. We take all our steps with this understanding.

This is the truth behind the efforts of communities and states that only have few centuries of history to invent a deep-rooted history for themselves. Turkey is one of the unique countries, spread on very large geography, with over 2200 years of uninterrupted state tradition in its history. Such a country cannot use the same methods as the states that have no roots, no traditions, and no morals, and which derive their power from colonialism and greed. The age-old and noble stance that the Grand National Assembly of Turkey represents in the legislative field is the most precious treasure we will leave to our children. I would like to express my gratitude to all members of our Assembly who have taken a firm stance in our country's fight against terrorism and in their efforts to protect our rights in the international arena.”

“Our assembly has shown that it has been a source of hope for our friends along with our nation”

Pointing out that Grand National Assembly of Turkey has shown that it has been a source of hope for Turkey’s friends along with our nation, Erdoğan went on to say: “Furthermore, our Assembly, which supports our brothers and sisters everywhere from Turkish Cypriots and Azerbaijani Turks to the Balkans and North Africa, has shown that it has been a source of hope for our friends along with our nation.

“We stand by our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters in their struggle to save their occupied territories and protect their homeland”

As a country, we are at the very center of the geography where global crises are experienced the most. Traces of the tragic massacres and conflicts experienced in the Balkans nearly 30 years ago are still fresh. It is also clear that the region could not attain permanent peace and tranquility. The crisis that started with the occupation of Crimea in the Black Sea has the potential to re-escalate at any moment. The Caucasus continues to be a crisis zone bearing the potential for a new conflict with every inch of its land. As a matter of fact, the clashes that started with the attack of the Armenians, who occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, on Azerbaijan are the most concrete examples of this. Here, I would like to state once again that we stand by our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters in their struggle to save their occupied territories and protect their homeland. The attitude presented today by those who were blind, deaf, and mute against the occupation of the age-old Azerbaijani territory Karabakh and the massacres carried out against the civilians by the Armenians, is also hypocritical. The words of those who were silent to the occupiers and accused those who defended their homeland and those who stood by them are of no value to us. As Turkey, we will continue to extend support with all our facilities and hearts to our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters whom we regard as ‘two states one nation’.

Today, we are almost experiencing alive the feeling expressed by the late Abdürrahim Karakoç during the occupation of Karabakh in the following verses: ‘That is the way it was but not the way it will be / This game will not lead to salvation for the tyrants / This game will not end as they hope it would / We have the bread and butter for the oppressed / We have the core of the wound in you’. Yes, this despicable game that will not lead to salvation for the tyrants is hopefully being spoiled.

“The way to permanent peace in this region is through the withdrawal of the Armenians from every inch of Azerbaijani territory that they occupied”

The way to permanent peace in this region is through the withdrawal of the Armenians from every inch of Azerbaijani territory that they occupied. Efforts to persistently slander Turkey by leaving everything aside also will not be able to save the Armenian administration. I warn those who support this rogue state that they will be held to account before the common conscience of humanity. May Allah help and be with our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters. I extend my condolences to our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters and wish Allah’s mercy upon those who were martyred in this struggle.”

“Syria has always been in a critical position in turkey’s 40-year-old fight against terrorism”

Underlining that the Syrian crisis is undoubtedly the most tragic, bloody, and painful issue in the Middle East, Erdoğan said: “Moreover, every aspect of this issue concerns us very closely. First of all, we have a 911-kilometre border with this country. The peoples living on both sides of the border share a common history of thousands of years. There are wide and deep human, cultural, social, and even economic relationships brought about by this deep-rooted past.

Syria has always been in a critical position in Turkey’s 40-year-old fight against terrorism. Moreover, in the last 10 years when the country has been destabilized, DAESH and PKK-YPG have become the most influential terrorist organizations here. We are the ones hosting in our cities nearly 4 million people fleeing the oppression and war in Syria. Likewise, we are the ones meeting the needs of 4 million oppressed people in Syria. If there is a country in the world that has the right to be involved in all aspects of the Syria issue, it is Turkey. Whoever says ‘What is Turkey doing in Syria’, then they either don’t know the area and its history or have some other agenda. Turkey will continue to use every means and method to secure its borders until a solution is found in Syria on the basis of political unity and territorial integrity of the country. We carried out our Operations Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Peace Spring for this purpose. We are also in Idlib to that end. We have not handed over our borders to terrorist organizations and those who use them as tools, and we will not.

We will continue our operations outside the regions that we have ensured safety in, and everywhere else that is still the source of attacks against our country and our brothers until the last terrorist is destroyed. We will continue to protect the oppressed, to whom those who keep talking about humanism, human rights, and respect for the other, have turned their backs and tried every way to prevent them from entering their countries.”

“We are never in pursuit of conflict, tension, injustice, unlawfulness in the Mediterranean”

Stating that developments in the Eastern Mediterranean constitute the most important battle that Turkey has waged in the seas within the last few centuries, Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “Thanks to the domination we established in the Mediterranean with the Naval Victory of Preveza, the 482nd anniversary of which we marked this year, peace had prevailed in the region for centuries. In the Gallipoli Campaign, where our epic of resurrection was written, we had great victories in the sea as well as on the land. Claiming the legacy of peace left by Barbaros Kheireddin Pasha and other heroes is the responsibility of every child of this country. As Turkey, we are never in pursuit of conflict, tension, injustice, unlawfulness in the Mediterranean. Our only demand is respect for the rights, remedies, and interests of our country.

We primarily opt for a settlement of disputes regarding the sharing of political and economic potential in the Mediterranean on an equitable basis. However, the attitude of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side since 2003 has unfortunately been far from this principle. The European Union, on the other hand, has turned into an ineffective, visionless, and shallow structure as a prisoner of the caprice of Greece and the Greek Cypriot side. There is not a single problem that has emerged in our region and has been solved with the initiative and influence of the European Union. On the contrary, every crisis in which the Union has been involved has grown by gaining new dimensions.

Under these circumstances, there is no option left for Turkey other than its own facilities and to resolutely implement its own policies. The agreement we made with Libya is one of our responses to attempts to completely eliminate our country from the Mediterranean. With this agreement, we had the opportunity to expand the efforts that we initiated to protect the rights of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“We will maintain our determined stance that keeps the dialogue channels open to the end”

Those who ignored our country in the region for years and confronted us with maps and demands that would imprison us into our coasts first tried the language of threat and blackmail after the steps we took. In the face of the firm stance of Turkey supported by land, sea, and air elements and the intelligence of our gallant military and our country’s political and diplomatic power, they were forced to accept the method of dialogue. Especially at this point, which has been reached with the intense efforts of Germany, it is the choice of our opponents either to solve the problem through negotiations, or to escalate the tension again, and even to create a conflict if it reaches that extent.

We will maintain our determined stance that keeps the dialogue channels open to the end. How many countries are there, I wonder, that are fighting for peace and engaging in sacrifices as much as Turkey in a world of heightened conflict? Isn’t it a proof of this that even though we are not the largest economy in the world, we rank the first in humanitarian aid? Isn’t it a proof of this that we are the country hosting the largest number of refugees in the world, despite the security risks at our borders and its economic burden? Isn’t it a proof of this that we have always used our power and initiatives in favor of mediation on every platform from the United Nations to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation? In the light of these realities, we invite all countries, particularly the European Union and our neighbors, to support the security and peace efforts of Turkey or at least respect our efforts.”

“The issue of Jerusalem is not an ordinary geopolitical problem for us”

Touching upon the Palestine issues, Erdoğan said: “Another crisis that our country and our nation carefully follow is the oppression of Israel against the Palestinians and the indifferent practices that disregard the privacy of Jerusalem. I would particularly like to highlight the following point here: The issue of Jerusalem is not an ordinary geopolitical problem for us. First of all, the current physical appearance of the old city, which is the heart of Jerusalem, was built by Suleiman the Magnificent with its walls, bazaar, and many buildings. Our ancestors showed their respect for centuries by keeping this city in high esteem.

In this city that we had to leave in tears during the First World War, it is still possible to come across traces of the Ottoman resistance. So, Jerusalem is our city, a city from us. Our first qibla Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem are the symbolic mosques of our faith. In addition, this city is home to the holy places of Christianity and Judaism.

The fact that the lands of the Palestinian people, who have been the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the region for thousands of years, have been occupied and their rights and laws have been violated, requires us to pay close attention to this issue. We consider it an honor on behalf of our country and nation to express the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people on every platform, with whom we have lived for centuries. With this understanding, we will follow both the Palestinian cause, which is the bleeding wound of the global conscience, and the Jerusalem case to the end.” (ILKHA)