President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, made statements following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered remarks at a press conference following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex.
“8,372 BOSNIANS WERE MASSACRED AND BURIED IN MASS GRAVES”
Commencing his speech by drawing attention to the 31st anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, President Erdoğan said that what as painful as the war on those days was the Bosnian people having been left alone, and added: “Western countries and organizations did nothing but watched from a distance an ethnic cleansing attempt at the center of Europe. While the United Nations Protection Force, sent to the region to protect civilians, could not protect even themselves, the cities, which were announced to be secure zones, witnessed such massacres that we still remember with shame even today. 8,372 Bosnians, including children, women and the elderly, were massacred and buried in mass graves. Although 31 years have passed, the wounds made in our hearts by the Srebrenica Genocide still continue to bleed.”
Wishing once again Allah’s mercy upon Srebrenica martyrs, President Erdoğan said that Türkiye does what falls to itself in order for similar sufferings to not occur again, and will continue work for stable and prosperous Bosnia and Herzegovina where different faiths, cultures and ethnic identities live in peace.
“On this occasion, I wish Allah’s mercy upon my treasured friend Father Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who passed away yesterday, and extend my most heartfelt condolences to the friendly and brotherly people of Qatar, first and foremost to Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim,” President Erdoğan noted.
“TÜRKİYE SUCCESSFULLY HOSTED THE 36TH NATO HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT SUMMIT”
Underscoring that Türkiye successfully hosted the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit on July 7-8, President Erdoğan noted: “The Alliance-member 32 heads of state and government participated in the Summit we held at the Presidential Complex. Despite different statements made prior to the Summit, all the leaders, including President Trump of the U.S., attended the Summit. In addition to the leaders, we hosted nearly 100 ministers, 4,800 high-ranking diplomats, 1,000 of them delegates, representatives of international organizations and invitees in Ankara. Besides the ally countries, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, NATO’s Asia-Pacific partners, and Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners, attended the Summit at presidential or ministerial levels. President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Syrian President Al-Sharaa also paid bilateral visits to Ankara on July 8. Over 2,500 local and foreign members of the press followed the Summit.”
“ANKARA SUMMIT LED TO THE CLARIFICATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S CENTRAL ROLE”
Stressing that Ankara, by hosting a historic summit with a historic success, has increased its international visibility more than ever before, President Erdoğan noted that they will inshallah demonstrate the same success during the 13th Leaders’ Summit of the Organization of Turkic States they will host on October 29-30 as well, and continued as follows: “The Ankara Summit led to the clarification of our country’s central role. That the new era, when European allies assume more responsibility, burden is shared more fairly and collective defense is prioritized, was manifested at the Ankara Summit turned the meeting into one of the most historic summits of the Alliance. Türkiye, for its part, with its military capabilities, strategic location, diplomatic experience and defense industry capacity, is at the center of this transformation as one of NATO’s strongest actors.”
Further stating that during the Summit they underlined that the obstacles and limitations before defense industry cooperation should be lifted, President Erdoğan said almost 1,000 guests and members of the press participated in the Defense Industry Forum that were held for the first time this year as one of the Summit’s main events, and that the Center of Excellence for Countering Unmanned Systems was decided to be established in Konya.
“RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR MUST BE SOLVED THROUGH DIALOGUE AND DIPLOMACY”
“We clearly brought up to the agenda the inhumane attacks our Gazan and Lebanese brothers and sisters are subjected to,” President Erdoğan stated, and added: “We reiterated that the Russia-Ukraine war must be solved through dialogue and diplomacy. We carried out intensive talks for three days on the sidelines of the Summit. We held meetings with the leaders of Canada, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Slovakia, Albania and the European Union as well as with NATO Secretary General. We assessed the latest situation in Syria with President Ahmad Al-Sharaa. We also hosted seven separate events with the theme of defense and security, including the one held at Ankara Palas with the participation of over 50 think-tanks. We hosted in the most beautiful manner the spouses of the participating leaders during a successful organization that reflected our nation’s exceptional hospitality. Particularly, Mr. Trump’s official visit to Türkiye from the U.S. at presidential level after 17 years was extremely noteworthy. We welcome his praiseful messages about our country and the Summit. We will continue to work with Mr. Trump to strengthen the Turkish-American relations, achieve the goal of 100-billion-dollar bilateral trade volume and establish peace and stability in our region.”
