Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday strongly condemned Houthi attacks on the main airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh that killed 12 people and injured hundreds.
"We strongly condemn the attacks carried out by the Houthis on Oct. 10 targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed 12 people and injured 309," said Erdoğan, speaking after chairing a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
He expressed condolences for those killed in the attacks, including people performing the Umrah pilgrimage, and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
"Türkiye stands with Saudi Arabia and our Saudi brothers and sisters in the face of these attacks that violate law and humanity," he added.
"We want peace and stability across our entire region," Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye would continue defending peace based on "regional ownership."
Erdoğan said conflict zones are expanding across the region, with tensions escalating from Lebanon to Yemen and Iran.
"Despite the belt of crises that have surrounded it for some time, Türkiye is increasingly consolidating its position as an island of stability, trust, and peace. We advocate resolving disputes through dialogue and diplomacy at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield, based on the principle of regional ownership," he said.
"Mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is our fundamental principle. In our view, division and fragmentation only serve the interests of malign forces seeking to turn our region into a sea of blood," he said.
The president also announced that work is underway to submit the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement—a pact signed on Aug. 7 between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan—to parliament in the coming days to complete domestic approval procedures.
Erdoğan said the three countries are continuing efforts to establish the institutional framework for the agreement, adding that defense cooperation is progressing along two main tracks: collective defense and regional cooperation, and the development of a permanent, functioning institutional structure.
"I would like to emphasize that, as in NATO, activities under the joint defense agreement will also be conducted on the basis of our national legislation," he said.
He rejected claims seeking to portray Türkiye as occupying a different position, saying such rhetoric has no validity.
"Türkiye's position, sensitivities, and the principles it upholds are clear. We never view events through an ethnic or sectarian lens. We want peace and stability to prevail throughout our entire region. From now on, we will continue to defend peace and work for peace on the basis of regional ownership," Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan also spoke on his Oct. 3 visit to the southeastern Şanlıurfa province, where he attended TEKNOFEST Southeastern Türkiye, which he said was held with record participation, and also inaugurated the newly completed Şanlıurfa City Hospital.
"There, we once again saw that Türkiye's future is rising in the hands of young people who think, research, produce, and develop their own technology," he said.
He congratulated young people who received awards and achieved high rankings at the tech festival and thanked everyone involved in organizing the event.
Erdoğan said that on the same day the government also inaugurated Şanlıurfa City Hospital and its connecting roads. The project represents an investment of 39 billion Turkish liras ($932 million), based on the exchange rate at the time of writing.
The hospital has 500,000 square meters (5.38 million square feet) of indoor space, 2,000 beds, 451 outpatient examination rooms, and 60 operating theaters, along with other facilities. Erdoğan said it would provide residents with modern, high-quality health care. He wished all success to the hospital and other investments and congratulated the institutions involved.
Erdoğan also spoke on his attending the opening of the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) on Oct. 7 in Antalya, marking the first time Türkiye hosted the event. The congress brought together experts from 111 countries, he said.
"Türkiye is making intensive efforts to establish a stronger presence in space and develop our own technology," he said.
Erdoğan said production, assembly and integration has been completed for a spacecraft developed under Türkiye's Lunar Research Program. The 3.5-ton vehicle, which has a domestic production rate exceeding 80%, is undergoing system-level environmental testing, he added.
He also mentioned an Oct. 6 ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara to usher in the 2026–2027 academic year, where the 2026 Council of Higher Education Outstanding Achievement Awards were also presented.
"I wish success in the new academic year for our students, academics, and the higher education community, and congratulate the award recipients," he said.
On the Oct. 9 International Justice Summit in Istanbul, Erdoğan said: "The reality is that the geography of crime is no longer confined within the borders of a single country."
"Whether an ordinary criminal, a municipal embezzler, a drug trafficker, or a member of a terrorist organization, no one who acts outside the law should feel comfortable or at ease anywhere in the world. The reach of our state is close behind those who flee justice or believe they can escape it."
Erdoğan said Türkiye secured the extradition of 294 people to the country during the first nine months of 2026. During the same period, authorities brought another 736 people back to Türkiye in connection with various wanted person searches, he added.
"No matter where they hide, we will continue to pursue those who threaten the lives and property of our people," he said.
