Turkish president vows to introduce new 'civilian' constitution

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday promised to introduce a new "civilian" constitution.

"We will work together to bring a civilian constitution to Türkiye," Erdoğan said after a Cabinet meeting, which lasted more than eight hours, in the capital Ankara.

"We want to follow our journey in the second century of our republic under the guidance of a civilian, liberal, encompassing constitution that will be embraced by all segments," he stressed, underlying the importance of leaving behind the current constitution shaped by the military junta after the 1980 coup.

Erdoğan also hailed the presidential system, saying: "Our nation rejected the proposals to return to the old system with its will in elections on May 14 and May 28. The parliamentary system discussions were closed indefinitely."

Türkiye adopted its executive presidential system of governance in 2017 after a public referendum and put it into practice a year later.

Turkish officials have touted the benefits of the new system, saying it eliminates inefficiencies and enables the smoother working of the administration.

- Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan tour

After his reelection on May 28, Erdoğan said he paid his first foreign visits to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Azerbaijan.

"We will continue our struggle shoulder to shoulder with the Turkish Cypriots, who are an integral part of the Turkish nation. We will never allow the rights of either our country or the TRNC to be usurped," he stressed.

Turning to Azerbaijan, Erdoğan said during talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev they took many decisions to improve bilateral relations.

"We have determined a common goal to increase the trade volume to $15 billion," he added.

Erdoğan also said that the establishment of the Türkiye-Azerbaijan university was given priority.

"We emphasized our support for the ongoing normalization process with Armenia," he added.