Türkiye will maintain its ‘constructive, proactive approach’ to foreign policy: President Erdogan

ISTANBUL

In an era of major international challenges, Türkiye will maintain its “constructive, proactive, calm and composed approach to foreign policy,” the country’s president pledged on Wednesday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reiterated Türkiye’s opposition to Israel’s attempts to set the region ablaze by spreading conflict, vowing to fight until the “genocidal killers” of the Gaza bloodshed are held accountable.

“We will stand against Israel’s attempts to set the region on fire. We will fight until the genocidal killers who spilled the blood of over 40,000 innocents in Gaza are held accountable under the law,” Erdogan said in an address in the capital Ankara marking the 23rd anniversary of the country’s Justice and Development (AK) Party.

Mentioning Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Türkiye starting Wednesday, Erdogan told how Abbas is set to address parliament on Thursday “as an honored guest on behalf of the Palestinian people.”

Decrying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s July 24 speech to the US Congress, which drew criticism for honoring the architect behind the bloody 10-month-old offensive on Gaza, Erdogan said: “I will ensure that Mahmoud Abbas has the right to speak in our country’s parliament.”

On Türkiye’s continuing counter-terrorism operations, Erdogan vowed not to “turn a blind eye to the revival of nearly eradicated terrorism or any faits accomplis in northern Syria.”

“We will not turn a blind eye to the revival of terrorism, which has nearly been eradicated as a result of our operations, nor to any fait accompli in northern Syria,” he said.

Türkiye has launched counter-terrorist operations in both northern Iraq and northern Syria, near its borders, as terrorists there pose a threat by plotting attacks on Turkish as well as the peaceful life of locals in frontier areas of those countries.

• President Recap Tayyaip Erdogan