Türkiye will always oppose any political attempt to create religious divisions, the country's communications director said on Monday.
"Today, the world needs tolerance and mutual understanding more than ever. Under the leadership of President Erdoğan, Türkiye will always oppose any political effort to pit religions against one another," Fahrettin Altun said on X.
Reminding that the first-ever church built in Türkiye since the republic's establishment in 1923 opened its doors to worshippers in Istanbul on Sunday, Altun said: "This event marked the inauguration of the first newly built church in the Turkish Republic's history."
The church was built as a five-story structure in an empty section of a Latin Catholic Cemetery in Yeşilköy.
"President Erdoğan has always advocated for religious freedoms for all our citizens regardless of their denomination. He has worked to ensure that legal and administrative hurdles before renovation and restoration efforts of churches are removed," he said.
Altun said successive AK Party governments ensured the return of previously confiscated properties to their lawful owners, while religious minorities in Türkiye have been able to reconstruct and restore their places of worship in the past two decades.
"All of these efforts have been accomplished according to our deep belief in the religious rights and freedoms of all our citizens. They are also a sign of our commitment to religious tolerance and mutual respect," he added.
