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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye will never tolerate any fait accompli, opportunism, or piracy in the "Blue Homeland" (Mavi Vatan), as he warned of increasing provocations and threats against Türkiye's interests and those of the Turkish Cypriot people in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"We are closely monitoring the increasing provocations and threats against our country's and the Turkish Cypriot people's interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. I want it to be known that we will never tolerate any fait accompli, opportunism or piracy in the 'Blue Homeland,'" Erdogan said in a New Year video message on Wednesday.
The Turkish president also noted that 600,000 Syrian guests have returned to their homeland in 2025, as the peaceful environment is taking root in Syria.
"As the peace environment in Syria takes root, voluntary returns have also increased, and 600,000 of our Syrian guests have returned to their homeland in the past year," he said.
"As Türkiye, we will provide the necessary support to the new administration for the peace and security of the Syrian people without discriminating between Arab, Kurd, Turkmen, Sunni, Shia or Alawite," he added.
"We believe that a strong Syria that has achieved its political unity and territorial integrity will make exceptional contributions to both its surroundings and the world," Erdogan said.
President Erdogan also noted that Türkiye is working intensively to stop Israel's attacks, accelerate humanitarian aid to Gaza and enable reconstruction efforts to begin.
"We will not be silenced, we will not remain quiet, and we will never let the genocide be forgotten until those who martyred 71,000 of our brothers and sisters, most of them children and women, are held accountable by justice," he said.
The ceasefire in Gaza, achieved partly with Türkiye's contribution, continues despite all of Israel's violations, thanks to the prudence of the Gazan people, Erdogan noted.
The Turkish president also noted that Ankara is continuing its initiatives to end the Russia-Ukraine war, now entering its fifth year, with a fair and lasting peace as soon as possible.
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