Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today criticized Israel's actions in the region, calling on it to stop the "inhuman" attacks against Gaza, reported the Anatolian Agency, quoted by BTA.
Israel must stop these massacres and end the inhumane attacks, President Erdogan told reporters on the plane back from Germany, where he attended the Turkish national football team's Euro 2024 quarter-final match against the Netherlands last night.
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„To date, it is Israel that insists on attacks and continued massacres. It is Israel that is trampling on human rights and international law," he added.
Erdogan also expressed concern about Israel's regional ambitions, saying Israeli leaders are threatening Lebanon.
Israel must give up its intention to spread conflicts in the region, stressed the Turkish president.
Commenting on Turkey's relations with Syria, Erdogan hinted at a potential thaw in relations.
„The moment Bashar Assad takes a step towards improving relations with Turkey, we will respond,” he said, stressing his readiness to restore relations.
We will extend an invitation to Assad. We want to return the Turkish-Syrian relations as they were in the past, the Turkish president also said.
Turkey cut ties with Syria after the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and has backed rebels seeking to oust Assad. Ankara has launched several cross-border military operations against extremists it says threaten its national security, and created a “security zone” in northern Syria, where Turkish troops are now stationed. However, Syrian officials have repeatedly said that normalization of relations can only happen after Turkey agrees to withdraw its soldiers from Syria.
Speaking about relations with Iran, Erdogan emphasized the importance of historical and cultural ties between the two countries.
"Iran is an important neighbor with which we have historical, cultural ties. I expect the relations between Turkey and Iran to develop in a positive direction in the new period," he said.
On July 5, Iran held a second round of early presidential elections, scheduled after the death of previous president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The candidate from the reformist wing, former health minister Massoud Pezeshkian, won the election decisively.
Erdogan today also emphasized the strategic partnership with Great Britain, promising to further strengthen it.
„We will continue to improve relations with our ally Britain in every area in the new period”, he confirmed.
Centre-left Labor leader Keir Starmer has formed a new government following the UK general election on July 4, in which his party won an overwhelming majority in the 650-seat House of Commons (the lower house of the British parliament). Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservatives suffered their worst performance in the party's long history.
Erdoğan also commented on UEFA's punishment of Turkish defender Merich Demiral, who made the sign of the far-right Turkish group "Grey Wolves" after scoring Austria's second goal in the round of 16 of EURO 2024.
According to the Turkish president, the decision is entirely political, but it has not affected the motivation of the Turkish national team.