By News Centre

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered questions from
journalists, including TVNET Economy Chief Semra Karabaş, following
the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of State Summit
held in Kyrgyzstan.

Regarding Türkiye’s potential membership in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization, Erdoğan said, “Everyone now sees that the
vast geography stretching from China to Central Asia, and from
Russia to South Asia, offers major commercial and economic
opportunities for Türkiye. It is also possible, from our
perspective, to take relations with the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization to higher levels in the period ahead. I would
especially like to underline one point. Türkiye’s perspective on
membership in the organization in no way means breaking away from
one bloc or turning its back on the West. Our goal is to increase
our own weight with a 360-degree vision.”

Asked about the “framework law” adopted as part of the
“Terror-Free Türkiye” process and the disarmament of the
organization, Erdoğan said: “In such cases, it is not possible to
give a specific time frame, in other words, to establish a
timetable or schedule the process. We view the Terror-Free Türkiye
process as a matter of achieving a goal rather than simply a matter
of following a timetable. This is how we will approach it. Of
course, as the state, we have a roadmap, a plan and a timetable.
Our relevant institutions are currently working in coordination on
the process.”

“At the point we have reached today, the strong consensus
demonstrated by our Parliament is important and extremely valuable.
The monitoring committee established under the chairmanship of our
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has begun planning the steps to be
taken within the framework of the duties defined by the law. For
the law to begin being implemented, the organization must actually
lay down its arms and be dismantled. The procedures for determining
and verifying this are also clear. The process is moving forward
step by step.”

“The process has not been confined to narrow parameters in all
its aspects. There is also a degree of flexibility in this regard.
We are approaching the issue with the seriousness of the state and
taking our steps accordingly. Our nation has also demonstrated its
support for a Terror-Free Türkiye. Processes that are so open to
provocation should not be allowed to drag on for too long. At this
point, our Parliament Speaker as well as our Group Chairmen are
showing the utmost sensitivity, and we are continuing on this path
with this determination.”

Asked about strengthening the domestic front and occasional
dissenting statements coming from the DEM Party, Erdoğan said:

“We cannot look at the issue from a narrow perspective. We must
be sincere. We must be responsible. We must exercise common sense.
We must protect our brotherhood. We are approaching the issue from
the broadest possible perspective and focusing on the goal in this
way. We cannot tolerate approaches that damage the brotherhood of
our nation, hurt social cohesion, or risk reactivating the fault
lines created by terrorism in the past.”

“There may be some excessive statements by certain people who
have political identities. There may also be those who make such
statements in order to infect the process. Let it be known that
every statement that does not serve social cohesion contributes to
chaos and serves no other purpose. Frankly, I believe that our
nation has developed a resistance to such provocations. Our nation
has laid the foundations for this process, and those foundations
have taken hold. Strengthening the domestic front does not mean
eliminating differences. We did not say this for nothing. We will
strengthen the domestic front. Together with our differences, we
will unite around the common denominator of Türkiye. We call this
the ‘Great Türkiye Consensus.’ Let us not forget this. We are
moving forward on this path knowing what we are doing in order to
reach our destination.”

Some countries are quietly reacting against the Mecca
Alliance

Regarding the first meeting of ministers held in Istanbul as
part of the Mecca Alliance, Erdoğan said:

“The meeting held in Istanbul was extremely important. In line
with our approach that concrete steps should be taken as soon as
possible, we identified the issues that need to be addressed
technically. First and foremost, a secretariat needs to be
established and made operational. Military and political issues
need to be addressed here. The defense industry is an important
area of cooperation. In addition, within the scope of military
operational cooperation, issues such as military training, military
standardization, military threats, and the sharing of capabilities
and resources were discussed. Decisions were made on when and how
these matters would be implemented. There are very few countries
that have openly reacted against this alliance, but there are also
countries that have reacted against it quietly. In particular, the
balance between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye makes it
difficult for many actors to openly criticize this alliance. This
alliance was established for stability and security in our region.
We will continue on our path together with our brothers, growing
stronger.”

Asked about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
Erdoğan said:

“It took place in a very, very sincere atmosphere. Türkiye is
playing roles in finding peaceful solutions to conflicts in our
region. It is the expectation of both us and Mr. Putin that the war
between Russia and Ukraine should end in peace as soon as possible.
We want a peace process between Russia and Ukraine to take place in
this region as soon as possible and for peace to prevail in the
region. It is clear that this war has not produced a beneficial
outcome for our region, the world or the parties involved. So, is
Putin happy about this? He is not. He too expects this matter to
reach a beneficial conclusion as soon as possible. We told Mr.
Putin that we are ready to do everything we can for peace. It is a
reality that peace, not war, will prevail. We are ready to make
every effort to achieve this.”

Asked whether the issue of Türkiye being readmitted to the F-35
program and the possible transfer of S-400 systems to a third
country had been discussed during his meeting with Putin, Erdoğan
said:

“We discussed every issue on our bilateral agenda with Mr.
Putin. As you know, Türkiye was one of the partners in the F-35
program. It made significant contributions under this program. Our
talks on Türkiye’s re-entry into the program are also continuing.
We believe that once the processes in the United States are
completed as soon as possible, this issue will be left behind.
While pursuing all these diplomatic efforts, we are not giving up
on KAAN. We are not giving up on developing our own air defense
systems. On the contrary, we are increasing Türkiye’s options. This
is what a strong Türkiye looks like. This is the roadmap for a
strong Türkiye.”

Asked how Türkiye would respond if Greece continued to arm
islands that have demilitarized status, Erdoğan said:

“What should we do? What is our responsibility? To do what is
necessary. We say that we want to proceed with Greece on the basis
of good neighborly relations. If we were to call out from our
mainland, say from Kaş, to Greece, they would hear us, wouldn’t
they? But we have been sincere on every issue. We have been the
constructive side. Yet most of the time, we have not seen our
goodwill reciprocated. Greece must now understand one thing:
Türkiye has no designs on anyone’s territory, but it will not allow
anyone to violate its rights either. Ignoring and violating
international agreements will benefit no one. If anyone interprets
Türkiye’s calm and common-sense approach as a sign of weakness, I
say openly that they are making a grave mistake. Greece must turn
back from this wrong path and stop arming the islands that have
demilitarized status. History is a very, very good guide for those
who learn its lessons. We will continue working for peace, security
and stability in our region.”

Regarding the dissolution decision concerning the YPG-PYD, the
organization’s structure in Syria, Erdoğan said:

“Frankly, I was pleased with the decision announced on behalf of
the brotherly Syrian people. We view the decision and the
achievement of integration positively. As both the Syrian side and
Türkiye, a neighboring country with a very long border with Syria,
we are of course monitoring the implementation of the decision on
the ground. We are the country that most wants Syria to remain
united and whole with all its components. This is important for
sustainable development and capacity building in Syria. We have
always stood by our Syrian brothers and sisters for this purpose,
and we will continue to stand by them. In this regard, President
Ahmed al-Sharaa, praise be to God, has successfully managed
difficult processes and continues to do so. We are hopeful both
about the integration process and the gains achieved by the Syrian
people in a short period of time. I believe this process will open
the door to a new era not only for Türkiye and Syria, but for the
entire region. The chapter of terrorism must now be closed; the era
of weapons and violence must now come to an end.”

Erdoğan was reminded that the United States has recently
emphasized Syria’s territorial integrity. He responded:

“As Türkiye, whatever we said yesterday about Syria, we are
saying the same thing today. We said that Syria could not become an
area where terrorist organizations roam freely and that instability
there could spread throughout the entire region, and ultimately we
were proven right. So, it appears that the United States has now
also become aware of the realities in Syria. The Syrian people paid
a very heavy price, but they stood up for their homeland. Now they
are working to rebuild all of Syria. I call on all neighboring
countries and countries friendly to Syria to help with Syria’s
reconstruction and rebuilding. The situation in Syria is also
important because it demonstrates how accurate our vision was and
how realistic our Syria policy has been. The issue of combating
provocations is also important. It is essential not to create space
for those seeking to undermine Syria’s internal peace. The road to
stability in Syria passes through clearing away the seeds of
discord.”