Holding a press conference at Esenboğa Airport in Ankara before leaving for his visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia, Erdoğan said: “We as Türkiye follow a policy that supports the Balkans’ stability, development and their integration process with Euro-Atlantic organizations. We strongly maintain our relations with this region, with which we have long-standing historical, social and cultural ties, while also working to prevent tensions.

Highlighting Sarajevo as the first leg of his Balkans tour, Erdoğan said: “This year, we mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. We as Türkiye follow a policy that supports the Balkans’ stability, development and their integration process with Euro-Atlantic organizations. We strongly maintain our relations with this region, with which we have long-standing historical, social and cultural ties, while also working to prevent tensions.”

“We support the development of this region through projects carried out by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the Yunus Emre Institute, the Maarif Foundation, the Turkish Airlines, the TRT, and municipalities,” Erdoğan said. “We see that the news platform, TRT Balkans, which came online in June, is now filling a significant gap with its broadcasts in regional languages.”

Expressing his satisfaction over the inspiring works conducted by the NGOs and the business world, Erdoğan said: “We witness that all the peoples in this region welcome with appreciation our country’s balanced and fair stance. We will maintain our stance in the period ahead.” (ILKHA)