ANKARA
Türkiye will continue with anti-terror operations until its southern border is secure, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday.
“I declare once again to the whole world that our struggle will not end until we secure our southern borders with a 30-kilometer-deep corridor,” Erdogan said at a ceremony to mark the 951st anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt.
Speaking at the event in the eastern Bitlis province, Erdogan said Türkiye will continue the operations according to the country’s security priorities.
He added Türkiye does not have eyes on any country’s territory.
Battle of Malazgirt
Erdogan said Ahlat and Malazgirt are the “seal” of Türkiye’s will.
“With its past, present and future, Ahlat and Malazgirt are Türkiye,” he added.
Turkish control of Anatolia began with the Battle of Malazgirt, also known as the Battle of Manzikert, on Aug. 26, 1071, which saw the Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alparslan defeat a much larger Byzantine army.
The victory accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and led to more Turks settling in the region, paving the way for both the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic of Türkiye.
Centuries later, foreign occupation prompted Türkiye’s War of Independence in 1919, in which Turkish forces — led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — eventually drove the invaders from Anatolia.
By the end of 1922, all foreign forces had left the territories, which became a part of the Republic of Türkiye a year later.
