Turkish President Erdoğan, providing a general assessment of the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, used the following expressions:
"My esteemed colleagues from the press, I greet you with heartfelt respect. Praise be to Allah, we have successfully concluded the 8th Extraordinary Islamic Summit, where we discussed Israel's attacks on Palestine. It is noteworthy that this was a joint effort between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League. During the summit, we evaluated the situation with 25-26 countries, emphasizing the importance of the joint efforts of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. As you know, for 36 days now, there has been an indescribable oppression in Palestine, which has been struggling for existence under occupation and pressure for decades. In Gaza, innocent civilians are losing their lives under indiscriminate heavy bombardment, being forced to migrate from their own lands. Israel is committing war crimes in front of the whole world by targeting hospitals, schools, places of worship, mosques, churches, and even refugee camps, not sparing ambulances carrying the sick and dead.
Western countries are merely watching all the brutality from the sidelines. Faced with all this, those who have a conscience cannot remain silent. Since the first day, I have been making efforts to publicize the massacre in Gaza and be the voice of the Palestinian cause, both through visits and telephone diplomacy. While doing this, I have emphasized that we do not approve attacks targeting civilians in any way and have expressed this through written and visual media. Since October 7, we have made intense efforts to establish a humanitarian ceasefire through diplomacy and dialogue. In our contacts, I emphasized the importance of achieving a ceasefire, ending the conflicts, and ensuring uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. So far, we have sent 10 planes, approximately 230 tons of humanitarian aid materials to Egypt to be delivered to Gaza. A large ship carrying 50 containers filled with field hospitals, medical, and other aid materials set sail for Egypt yesterday morning and will likely reach El Arish tomorrow morning.
The arrival of our ship at the port of El Arish is now loaded with 660 tons of material, the result of all our efforts. The international community needs to take action in the face of the massacres that are taking place. However, we see once again that the United Nations Security Council has become ineffective. The resolution passed on October 27 in the United Nations General Assembly, calling for a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian aid, with the approval of 121 member countries, is promising. I find this decision important and valuable, reflecting the approach of the vast majority of the international community. In the process of implementing the resolution, it is essential for the Islamic world to stand together with one voice. I emphasized this at our summit today. I also underlined the great responsibilities that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, whose reason for existence is the Palestinian cause, has. In both the summit meeting and the bilateral meetings with my counterparts, I stated that normalization steps would be futile until the Palestinian issue is resolved. Our region can achieve lasting peace only with the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, within the 1967 borders and with territorial integrity. I pointed out that everyone needs to contribute to this. This view was shared in my meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and in my meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia.
We also discussed these issues in my meeting with President Sisi of Egypt. Especially the operation of the Rafah Crossing by President Sisi, despite all the difficulties, is of great importance. Their efforts in this regard are commendable. Our foreign ministers and our head of intelligence are maintaining contacts with them, and we have confirmed that we will stay in constant contact. As Türkiye, we have reiterated our readiness to take responsibility as a guarantor during the implementation of a solution. In coordination with our friends in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, we will continue to do our part to prevent further bloodshed. I hope the decisions taken at the summit will lead to good results. We will follow this process closely as Türkiye. Thank you, and now I turn the floor over to you."
Q: The first question I have is about the joint statement issued after this meeting. Until now, we used to read and see the statements of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and usually, they were limited to condemnation, without any constructive, guiding, or actionable approach. For the first time, the joint statement issued after this meeting was very impressive. I really liked it. Every sentence I read was crucial, and the proposed recommendations were important. For example, it says, "The displacement or expulsion of Palestinians is our red line; we consider it a war crime." It calls on all countries to stop their arms and munitions exports to Israel. Moreover, it details what can be done internationally step by step. What was Türkiye's stance, attitude, and role in the emergence of this joint statement? Did other countries easily agree to all the items in this statement? Or was there a persuasion process? What process led to the creation of this statement? Thank you.
First of all, we came to Riyadh to give a joint voice against the massacre in Palestine and to generate joint solutions. The day before, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, was here, and they had a meeting with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League. In these meetings, they outlined the entire framework of the joint statement. Yes, the tradition of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is generally about condemnation. States do not usually take many actions for various reasons. However, since the Extraordinary Executive Committee Meeting, our understanding of what needs to be done has been clear, and we demanded and persuaded the inclusion of the recent developments in detail in the joint statement. Countries were already prepared for the joint statement. In our meetings, everyone reviewed their texts again. Almost all proposals related to action came from us. Thus, before going to the summit, all the topics we planned were included in the final text. There is indeed a text here that contains many action points, has never been said before, defines settlers as terrorists, and even proposes a "Conference on Nuclear Disarmament" in the region based on Israel's nuclear weapons. The tactical part and the strategic part of the issue are both well connected. Especially, a more advanced description of how aid will be delivered was included, for example, the phrase "breaking the blockade." A more action-oriented definition was added beyond diplomatic definitions. Member countries initially said to us, "Why are we writing these if some of them will not be done?" We always said this: "A discourse must emerge so that action can follow. If a country wants to do something, this text should be a reference point. More importantly, the West should see this: the distance between us and them is widening due to Palestine, and this is an indicator of that. They accepted these heavy articles on these arguments. I always say, the Iranians have a proverb: 'They sat, talked, and dispersed.' Now this statement, that is, it did not happen on a ground where it was sat, talked, and dispersed. On the contrary, there are titles that need to be put into action. Especially the important point of declaring those settler occupiers as terrorists, which is very important. Breaking the blockade and dividing movement here are of great importance. The issue of nuclear disarmament is also very important, and it exposes those behind Israel and Israel itself. For example, Macron has started making different statements now. But he went straight there, visited, and appeared to be in a mood to provide any support. But this time, by saying that the scale of deaths and massacres here is much higher, he entered an atmosphere of developing an action policy against it. The fact that the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League came together to take this step is of great importance because it is the first time in the history of the two organizations that such a meeting has taken place."
Q: Mr. President, after the return from Uzbekistan, you once again delivered very important messages. Even after the Riyadh summit, you stated, "We will continue phone diplomacy with my colleagues, and we will initiate many works to increase the number of those advocating justice and rights at the United Nations." The summit is over. You touched on it a bit just now, but what will be Türkiye's roadmap to achieve peace from now on? We are curious about this.
The fact that 121 countries stood by Palestine in the United Nations vote is important for us. Among them, there are 40 abstentions and 14 votes against. The United States leads those against. But we are focusing on the question of whether we can add more countries from these 40 abstaining countries to the 121. There may be a possibility of phone diplomacy or meetings with them. For example, we spoke with Indonesia tonight, but there is no problem with Indonesia. For example, Hungary is among the abstainers. If we talk to them, even if they behave negatively, can we bring them to our side? Also, are there any abstainers that we can bring to our side? We are in search of this, and I want to review it. Let's start this phone diplomacy after the Riyadh summit. Hopefully, we will start this intensely. Also, on the 28th of the month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is coming to us. So, if we can achieve these, they will undoubtedly create a very different voice. There is no problem in Turkic states; there was no trouble there. In the Russia-Ukraine issue, we talked to those who stand by Ukraine today, asking, "Look, you sided with Ukraine there, and now thousands of people are being killed in Palestine, you cannot remain silent here either. We did not make a distinction between Ukraine and Russia, and we provided grain transportation to all of Africa and Europe. Now make your voice heard." I think we will have the opportunity to say that to those who stood by Ukraine, even if they act negatively. Moreover, when we take these steps, I do not think we will incur a significant loss from African countries. Because the view of African countries toward us is much better. Moreover, our relations with Egypt are very good. I believe that the involvement of Qatar in this process will significantly contribute to the support of African countries to this process.
On November 15, there is a meeting of my wife with the spouses of leaders. I do not know how many leader's wives will come. Negotiations are still ongoing. After that, we have a visit to Germany on November 17. In this visit to Germany, we will have some messages for the West. Or, since Germany is the strongest country in Europe, we will be a voice to Europe from there. But on November 21, we will have a visit to Algeria. I attach great importance to this visit to Algeria. Because among these countries, Algeria is a country that can always clearly express its stance. It has a broad influence in Africa. For this reason, I attach great importance to the meeting with President Tebboune. Hopefully, we will continue this calendar successfully."
EMPHASIS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VISIT TO GERMANY: WE WILL HAVE SOME MESSAGES TO THE WEST
Q: As you mentioned, you have a visit to Germany. Before this visit, the European Commission released the 2023 report. In this report, there was a specific section on Hamas. The European Union expresses serious discomfort with Türkiye's statements about Hamas during this process. Is the European Union trying to incorporate the Hamas issue into the Türkiye-European Union relationship equation? How do you evaluate the reflection of this in the latest commission report? Also, they don't mention anything about what happened before and after October 7. They only talk about the attack on Israel on October 7. How do you evaluate this stance?
Unfortunately, as in every matter, the European Union's view of Türkiye is negative. We, as Türkiye, will not fall into the trap of the European Union. Did the European Union see the human dignity in Israel's massacre, did it have respect for that? We need to ask these questions to the European Union in reverse. I haven't seen any member country of the European Union take a clear stance so far. They are starting to come out now, as in the recent statements made by Macron. But what about the German President and Chancellor? What kind of stance are they taking? We will see this more clearly during the visit to Germany. But so far, there is no clarity on their part either. According to international law, who is violating it is crucial compared to Europe. As of now, the approach in the European Union unfortunately does not align with our approach. However, I believe the visit to Germany will reveal many things. The European Union thinks about Hamas just like Israel. But we don't think, haven't thought, and can't think like them. Because I see Hamas as the winner of the elections in Palestine, a political party. I don't look at them the way they do. Now there is a Hamas that won the elections there, so it is seen as a political party. Now they want to take us to a point where we say 'Hamas is a terrorist organization.' No, my friend, it is not a terrorist organization. On the contrary, they are people who fight to protect their lands, defend, and fight for their homeland. Our perspectives are so different. Let me say this, as I said yesterday. The infamous Charlie Hebdo incident. What happened there, all world leaders, presidents, prime ministers, marched in Paris. There were also leaders of Muslim countries in it. But today, when you gather children, women, and the elderly in Gaza, the number of those who have died has reached 13,000. Such a scene is there. But are world leaders speaking out especially against Israel in these events in Palestine? Are they criticizing Israel? No. Why? Friends, we need to realize this now. The flowing blood here, the dead, the martyrs, they are Muslim. But there, the dead were French or others, but above all, the dead were human. So when we evaluate it, we evaluated it considering the fact that they were human. But why don't world leaders look at the situation and say, 'so many people have died'? Among them, there are little children! There are children. You see, a father wrapped in a white shroud, kissing his child on one side, taking his child to the grave on the other side. They have lined them up. We've seen them. We've seen those who try to take their child to the grave by smelling and kissing the child's body. Don't these touch your conscience? Don't you have a share of this? No. Because these are without a share. Therefore, we are experiencing a great tragedy, a great drama here. Remaining silent in the face of this drama, this tragedy is not possible. We will work hard, strive, and perhaps this incident may lead to other developments. After my meeting with Sisi tonight, I told my friends that now another door will probably open for us. With the visit to Egypt and these steps, what can we do in the region? We hope to take this step in place and talk about it.
"KEY COUNTRY TÜRKİYE FOR THE SOLUTION OF PROBLEMS"
Q: Two days ago, an article was published in the American Bloomberg. It said, 'The key to solving the Gaza crisis is in Türkiye.' It was expressed that 'Biden should have called Turkish President Erdoğan to solve this crisis; not doing so was a diplomatic mistake,' and it is stated in this article that now, the sooner he calls for the solution, the better. As you also mentioned just now, you have been conducting intensive diplomacy since the beginning of the process. Is there a meeting with Biden in this diplomatic traffic that you will accelerate from now on? What message will you give him when you meet him?
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was here recently. Probably, Biden will host us from now on. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to call Biden. It is not possible to make an initiative or plan against Türkiye in this geography without Türkiye. Our position, stance, values, and principles are clear. Our effort is to protect human life, establish peace, end wars, and wipe away the tears of the innocent. We have ready-to-implement prescriptions completely free of jingoistic rhetoric for resolving all crisis regions. We tell those who want to listen, reach those who can understand us. Our door is open to anyone who can understand the value of our position. We will continue to talk and strive with anyone who wants to contact us for a sincere solution and to work to restore humanity's dignity. Türkiye is the most applicable suggestion for the solution of the problems. Türkiye is the key country for the solution of crises and problems in the region. The only country that can talk to all countries in our region, bring conflicting and warring parties to the same table is Türkiye."
