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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday that Türkiye would respond firmly to any attempt to threaten its rights or those of Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying Ankara was closely monitoring developments around Cyprus.
Speaking at a parliamentary group meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Erdogan said efforts were underway to create new tensions in the Mediterranean, particularly around the island of Cyprus.
“If the rights and interests of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots are targeted in the Eastern Mediterranean, our response will be very clear and very firm,” Erdogan said.
He urged regional actors not to pursue what he described as dangerous ambitions or align themselves with Israel.
“No one should seek adventure,” Erdogan said. “No one should follow the Zionist network of massacres.”
Erdogan said some regional actors whose ambitions exceeded their capabilities had joined what he called Israel’s destabilizing policies and were pursuing unrealistic objectives in the Eastern Mediterranean.
He said Türkiye was following developments around Cyprus closely and would not tolerate moves against the rights of Türkiye or the Turkish Cypriot community.
Erdogan accused Israel of seeking to destabilize both African countries and the Mediterranean region.
He described the Israeli government as a source of continuing unrest across a wide geographical area and criticized the international response to its policies.
“Israel, under the current government, has become not only a threat to the region but also a source of danger to humanity,” Erdogan said.
He argued that Israel’s policies ignored rules, legal principles, values and borders, while the international community had failed to respond adequately.
Erdogan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had expanded attacks against Syria and Lebanon to a level that also threatened Türkiye.
“Syria and Lebanon are two sovereign and independent states,” he said. “But they are also part of Türkiye’s geography of affection and brotherhood.”
Erdogan described Damascus and Beirut as sister cities of Istanbul and said Türkiye’s security began beyond its own borders.
“Türkiye’s security does not begin only in Hatay,” he said. “It begins in Aleppo, it begins in Damascus. Türkiye’s security begins in Beirut.”
He said Ankara would not tolerate imposed arrangements in Syria or Lebanon or ignore attacks against people in the two countries.
“We will not tolerate any fait accompli in the countries of our brothers, and we will not turn a blind eye to any attack against them,” Erdogan said.
He also said Türkiye understood the intentions of those issuing threats against the country and would not allow what he described as territorial ambitions directed at the region.
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