Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the “Iftar with Members of Parliament” program held at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on Tuesday.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN’S SPEECH:

“As the honorable and true representatives of our nation, it is you who embody the people’s will today. On behalf of myself, my country and my nation, I extend my sincere thanks to each and every one of you.

Not only our region, not only the geography we are part of, but the entire world is going through critical days. The global system established after the Second World War is cracking and shaking at its foundations. Global injustice is deepening further. What will replace it remains uncertain. The world is moving toward a chaotic period in which the law of the powerful prevails.

Those who have lectured us for years about law, human rights and freedoms are now disregarding them all. Türkiye’s stance is clear. We are never neutral on issues that concern our region and humanity. We are not neutral when incidents disturb the peace of our brothers and neighbors. We are not neutral on matters that threaten the future of the entire world. On the contrary, as Türkiye, we stand on the side of peace and stability.

We stand on the side of peace and stability. We stand for solidarity and cooperation. We stand for universal values, justice and development. We stand for resolving problems through dialogue and diplomacy. We stand for negotiation instead of conflict, and peace instead of war. We stand not with killing, massacres, banditry, genocide or those who commit it, but with justice, truth and the protection of human life wherever it may be. We stand for wiping away the tears of the oppressed and preventing injustice. God willing, we will always uphold this line and this stance.

There will be those who seek to turn Türkiye away from this path. We will not heed them. We will move forward with courageous steps on the path we know to be right.”