President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is traveling to the U.S. for the NATO Leaders Summit.
In his statements at the airport before departure, Erdoğan emphasized the growing threat of terrorism worldwide, and vowed to address the Gaza massacres in his meetings at the summit.
Key points from the President's remarks:
"We Will Highlight the Increasing Terror Threat"
"At the summit, we will engage in consultations to strengthen NATO's defense structure. Our summit carries special significance as it coincides with NATO's 75th anniversary.
"Our expectation from the summit is to achieve outcomes that consider national security sensitivities and strengthen the alliance. Removing obstacles in the defense industry is crucial. In our discussions, we will underscore the growing threat of terrorism globally and emphasize the need to increase NATO's efforts. We maintain our principled stance to prevent NATO from becoming a party to the conflict in Ukraine. Every day that the conflict continues, it demonstrates the correctness of our position.
"Turkey is among the top five countries contributing the most to NATO's missions and operations. Our capabilities and resources place us at the forefront of NATO's backbone countries. We will bring the massacres in Gaza, where our shared values are being put to the test, to the forefront. We will stress the international community's inadequacy in stopping Israel. I will also address these issues in bilateral meetings.
"In the Ukraine war, NATO should not become a party to the conflict and a just peace should be established.
"We will highlight the massacres against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where our shared values are being tested."
Call for Recognition of Northern Cyprus
"From our perspective, Northern Cyprus is a full member of the Turkish states. Their stance, especially Azerbaijan's, has aligned with ours. At the recent Shusha summit, Northern Cyprus was present. We want to see Northern Cyprus as a full member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS)."
NATO Leaders Summit
"We continue to strengthen our position in NATO. We have a high-level role under the leadership of Secretary General Stoltenberg."
Israel's Gaza Attacks
"We have not yet obtained what we sought from NATO on this matter."
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