President Erdoğan speaks at his party's group meeting

Meeting with party members at this first AK Party Group Meeting of the 28th Legislative Year of the TBMM, Erdoğan began his speech by congratulating the deputies elected from the AKP in the May 14 elections.

Erdoğan's key statements are as follows:

I congratulate each of you, my brothers and sisters, who were elected as deputies from the AK Party lists in the May 14 elections with the appreciation of our nation. After May 14, 1950, Turkey once again showed the power of our democracy to the whole world on May 14, 2023, just as it was completing the first century of its Republic.

THE DOOR OF THE PEOPLE'S ALLIANCE IS OPEN

• I would like to express my gratitude once again to all our partners in the People's Alliance. We will write the epic of the Century of Turkey as the People's Alliance. The door of the People's Alliance is open to everyone who wants to join the struggle we are waging for the future of the country and the nation, provided that our partners also consent.

LOCAL ELECTION MESSAGE

• Hopefully, we will prepare for the 2024 elections with the MKYK and MYK. In our regular congress, which we will hold when the time comes, we will of course review our headquarters management with a performance and representation-oriented approach. I would like to state from now on that our most important criterion in this process, both at the headquarters and deputy level, will be the results to be obtained in the local elections to be held in March.
• It is very important that our deputies spend the days remaining from their parliamentary work in their electoral districts. We will not allow the slightest gap in public opinion or on the agenda of our cities. Do not forget that every gap we leave will be filled with the lies and slanders of the opposition.

THEY ARE DISRESPECTING THE VETERAN ASSEMBLY

• Those who have not received their share of the foresight and wisdom of the Anatolian people are still trying to blame the nation instead of looking for the fault in themselves. Instead of questioning why they could not find a place under the roof of the Assembly, they are disrespecting our veteran assembly, which is the representative of the national will. Those who think they will come to power by humiliating, insulting, and provoking the noble children of the nation, who have shown the will to make the right choice for the future of their country and themselves, have once again been frustrated. It has been shown that no one is obliged to vote for any party or candidate against their will. Those who do not respect the nation do not deserve respect themselves.

HIGH INFLATION

• The issue that has been bothering our people recently is the high cost of living. High rates of increase in inflation are a problem for the whole world. We are also suffering from this problem due to the overlapping of more than one factor. Without compromising our growth-oriented strategy, we are implementing a program that will overcome the difficulties of inflation with new ways and methods. The cost of living in our country is at levels that cannot be explained by either inflation or the exchange rate in some areas. Those who do this evil to their country just to earn 3 cents more by taking advantage of the environment of uncertainty should know that they are actually sabotaging their own future. I want our nation to give an answer to these opportunists by not buying their goods when necessary. This is the only way we can prevent what is being done, from automobiles to housing rents.

RETIREE BONUS

• To alleviate the difficulties of our retirees, we have decided to make a one-time bonus payment of 5000 TL to be paid in the middle of November. We will also make new arrangements for salaries. I wish the decision we have taken regarding our retirees to be beneficial once again.

'GEOGRAPHY IS DESTINY'

• Turkey is located in the most fragile region of the world in terms of ethnic origin, differences in belief and sect, and political and social conflicts of interest. The observation of Ibn Khaldun, who is accepted as the world's first political scientist and sociologist, that "Geography is destiny" is the simplest and most striking expression of this picture. Since we cannot change our history and our geography, and the destiny they impose on us, and we have no such intention, it is essential that we follow the best, most correct, and safest path that the current conditions allow.

ISRAEL'S ATTACKS

• We do not find any action against civilians to be right. A conflict carried out with all kinds of shameful methods is not a war, it is a massacre. The disproportionate and morally devoid attacks on Gaza may push Israel into an unexpected and undesirable position in the eyes of world public opinion. Intentionally killing civilians, blocking vehicles bringing humanitarian aid to the region, and trying to present all these as a skill can only be an organization reflex, not a state. Israel should not forget that if it acts like an organization rather than a state, it will eventually start to be treated like an organization. We are ready to do whatever falls to us, including mediation. We will use close dialogue for the establishment of peace. We want innocent children not to die, and no more blood to be shed. Lasting peace and tranquility in the region can only come with the establishment and recognition by the whole world of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, based on UN resolutions and having geographical integrity within the 1967 borders.

• 'We will use the close dialogue we have established with countries throughout the region recently for the establishment of peace. We do not want children, civilians, and innocent people to die anymore, and no more blood to be shed, whether in Gaza, Israel, Syria, or Ukraine. With these latest events, we have once again seen how accurate the determination we expressed with the phrase 'the world is bigger than 5' is. Hopefully, we will voice this objection more loudly from now on. I would like to underline once again that lasting peace and tranquility in the region can only come with the establishment and recognition by the whole world of an independent Palestinian State with its capital in East Jerusalem, based on United Nations resolutions and having geographical integrity within the 1967 borders. Seeking paths other than this, or chasing ambitions other than this, only means more destruction, more tears, and loss of life. We have not accepted and will not accept any step or measure that does not respect the privacy of Jerusalem, which houses the holy places of the three monotheistic religions, and the status of the Haram al-Sharif, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located.'

News Source: