Erdoğan targets opposition criticizing pension hikes: 'They don't carry the burden'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered journalists' questions on the plane upon his return from his visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Speaking about the pension system, Erdoğan targeted the opposition, which criticized the pension hike.

Erdoğan stated, "You see the opposition saying 'minimum wage should be 17 thousand' without thinking, without consulting, without talking. Unfortunately, they do not carry the burden. How can we manage this without upsetting economic balances? We are looking at this, and we are taking our steps accordingly."

Reacting to the statements made by Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias regarding Turkey, Erdoğan said, "Unfortunately, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias was in a different mood; clearly, he was unaware of the meeting we had with Mitsotakis, and he made reckless statements. There can be no more tactless, indecent expression than him standing up and saying that Turks are occupiers there. Therefore, Mr. Mitsotakis needs to put this minister in his place."

Also reacting to Israel's attacks on Gaza, Erdoğan said, "Israel must be stopped. It is the duty of all of us to ensure this. It is not possible to get anywhere by supporting Israel and ignoring the systematic oppression that the oppressed Palestinian people have been experiencing for years. Israel must pay the price for its actions, and this punishment must be exemplary enough to ensure that no one else ever considers such oppression again."

The questions directed at Erdoğan and his responses are as follows:

DENDIAS'S STATEMENTS

QUESTION- You spoke about the Greek Defense Minister's statements. He used the term 'occupier on the Island' regarding both the Turkish military and Turkey. There were recently warming, normalizing relations with Greece. Are these statements at a level that could bring Turkish-Greek relations back to a point of cooling?

From time to time, we witness the efforts of populist figures in Greece to dynamite relations between the two countries with such rhetoric. We want to develop our relations with Greece with an understanding of good neighborliness. Of course, this situation does not require us to remain silent in the face of such delusions. As everyone knows very well, Turkey carried out the Cyprus Peace Operation for peace, as the name suggests, and peace was established as a result of this intervention. Turkey carried out this operation to put a clear and sharp end to the genocide started by both the Greek Cypriot side and the coup plotters in Greece in Cyprus at that time. In other words, this intervention was carried out within the scope of the right of guarantee granted to us by international law. The Turkish soldier has a glorious history of never oppressing even his enemy, but never letting the rights of the oppressed be trampled upon. He will continue to act with the same understanding today and in the future. Let them know that it is not a culture of occupation that prevails in the lands where the Mehmetçik (Turkish soldier) sets foot, but peace. I spoke with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the last NATO summit. I said, "I will be in Northern Cyprus on the same day, and I will address the people of Northern Cyprus there. I understand that you will be in the South, and you will address them there. I suppose we won't make any statements that would disturb each other." He said he thought the same as I did. However, unfortunately, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias was in a different mood; clearly, he was unaware of the meeting we had with Mitsotakis, and he made reckless statements. There can be no more tactless, indecent expression than him standing up and saying that Turks are occupiers there. Therefore, Mr. Mitsotakis needs to put this minister in his place. We don't need to talk much more anyway. We have already talked about what we were going to talk about today. We are continuing on our path exactly as we are.

QUESTION- TRNC Minister of Transport Erhan Arıklı made a remarkable statement a day ago. He says, "Southern Cyprus is attempting to build a naval base on the Larnaca coast with Greece. News is emerging that they have agreed with America and the European Union. These have not been denied." Therefore, he says it is time to establish a naval base in Northern Cyprus by reaching an agreement with Turkey. Is the establishment of a naval and air base in the near future in question? Will steps be taken on this matter? On the other hand, there is a lot of news that Southern Cyprus is being used as a logistics base by Israel. Mr. Tatar also warned that this would make Cyprus a target for some major terrorist organizations in the Middle East. What steps does Turkey consider taking regarding such a development?

We are currently building the Northern Cyprus Presidential building and the Northern Cyprus Parliament building on the Island. I said, "Let me see them, what is the situation?" Both are becoming magnificent buildings. God willing, they will be finished by mid-November at the latest. When these two buildings, the presidential building and the parliament building, are finished, a very beautiful mosque is being built next to them to serve there. I suppose there is nothing more important than these bases. They are building military bases, we are building political bases. We will continue the work in the best way possible. In the meantime, I need to go for another inspection to see what the state of the construction is. As far as I can see, a truly magnificent work is being created from Cyprus stone. In other words, Turkey takes the necessary steps when necessary and does what needs to be done. It is necessary to carefully avoid steps that will never contribute to the peace of the island, will increase tensions, and will lead to violations of international law. Being a partner in the massacre in Israel will not benefit either the Greek Cypriots or Greece. Furthermore, if necessary, we will build a naval base and naval structures in the North. We also have our own sea. For example, we are buying a new natural gas ship. A floating gas processing platform ship that will be used in gas production in the Sakarya Gas Field. It will be in Turkey in about 2 months. It is 300 meters long and 58 meters wide. This platform, which will produce enough natural gas to supply 5 million households, will perhaps stay there for 15-20 years. It is like a base. It is setting off next week and will come to Turkey. They will have enough when they see that base anyway.

MSB'S OPERATIONS REGARDING NORTHERN IRAQ

QUESTION- The Ministry of National Defense has been sharing operations regarding Northern Iraq under the title "the lock is closing" for a long time. You have also stated from time to time that the PKK presence in northern Iraq will be completely ended. Where are we on this? Will this be finished this summer, what do you say?

The fight against terrorism is not a mathematical problem. You cannot say two plus two equals four. For example, our brother Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Cem Demirkan was wounded in the Claw-Lock Operation region. He remained wounded for 15 days and unfortunately became a martyr. We are taking revenge for all of these. They are paying a very heavy price, and they will continue to pay it. But if we knew that the fight against terrorism was a mathematical problem, we would stand up and make the statement accordingly. Therefore, our fight against terrorism will continue until the end. Sooner or later, we will be the winners again, God willing. The end that awaits them is now near. They are being held accountable for the pain they have caused the people of this country. We will eradicate the issue of terrorism from its roots. That is why they are running around and trying to find support. No matter what they do, they will not benefit. They are paying the price for what they have made the people of this country experience, one way or another. Our soldiers, police, and intelligence officers are in the field, and they constantly feel their strong breath on their necks. The caves they cannot even poke their noses out of will not be able to protect them.

ISRAEL'S ATTACKS ON GAZA

QUESTION- The International Court of Justice declared Israel an occupier and told it to leave the lands it occupies. How do you evaluate this? What will be the consequences of this? How will it affect the process from today on?

The International Court of Justice also sentenced Israel to pay compensation. They have not yet announced the amount. Israel has not implemented any of the decisions made by the International Court of Justice to date. Because it has the West, especially the United States, by its side. We are currently exerting the necessary pressure on the International Court of Justice together with many different countries of the world, and we will continue to do so. Spain's stance was very, very important here. The stances of Finland and Norway were all important. I think we will follow this matter, pursue it, and in the end, we will get a result here, God willing. Israel must be stopped. It is the duty of all of us to ensure this. It is not possible to get anywhere by supporting Israel and ignoring the systematic oppression that the oppressed Palestinian people have been experiencing for years. Israel must pay the price for its actions, and this punishment must be exemplary enough to ensure that no one else ever considers such oppression again. I hope this decision and the decisions taken before it, which were not implemented by Israel, will bring about an awakening in the international community. We should not get used to the suffering of the Palestinians, and we should not see their situation as normal. We must raise our voices against oppression in an increasingly louder tone every new day. This is our humanitarian duty, our debt to history. Every attitude adopted or not adopted today is going down in history. I invite everyone once again to stand on the right side of history.

QUESTION- Israel's genocide and attacks on the Gaza line continue. Now there is a presidential election in the United States. Will the outcome of the presidential elections in America affect Israel's Gaza policies? Additionally, I want to ask this: you constantly say that Israel wants to spread the war to the region. Why does Israel want to do this? Can Israel's attempts to spread this war, which will set the Middle East on fire, to the entire region be prevented? How can it be prevented?

Regarding this issue, Israel is doing exactly what it did in 1947, nothing has changed. The whole issue is for those who are on the side of right and justice against these behaviors of Israel to join hands and ensure that everyone stands by the decision made by this International Court of Justice. We can only break this game with such a stance. To end this oppression, it is essential for the US administration to put pressure on Israel and withdraw the support it gives to the murderer Netanyahu and his associates. Israel's desire to drag our geography into its own darkness and turn the region into a place of fire is clear. It is acting with the resentment of not being able to reach its goals despite all the oppression in Gaza. A united and determined opposition from the international community is what Israel wants the least. We must unite against Israeli oppression and force them to comply with international law. In this way, not only Gaza or Palestine, but our region, which has turned into a ring of fire, will also be saved from being dragged into major conflicts.

TURKEY-US RELATIONS

QUESTION- Trump already served a term before, and you worked with him. Later, Biden was elected, and you worked with him for a while too. Now we see that Trump is ahead in the polls again, and you have also met with him. I am asking because you used the expression that better days are coming for Turkey in the context of Turkey-America relations. Are we expecting better than today?

It would not be very right for me to go into this subject now. Because there are very interesting works we will do. Last Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was our guest. After our meeting, he said, "We will have dinner with Trump." In the meantime, the NATO summit was also continuing. The next day, they started to criticize Viktor Orban heavily. They said, "He said this, they are like that, we do not agree with what Viktor said, what he said are not the right things." Mr. Orban went to Moscow, as you know, they criticized him. He went to China, they criticized him in the same way. Then he attended the meeting in Shusha, they criticized him. Now they are calculating how to remove Hungary from the EU presidency. What falls to us now is patience. With this patience, I hope we will do what is necessary together when the time comes. I spoke with Mr. Trump about the assassination attempt on him. I congratulated them for standing by democracy in the face of the despicable attack. We are on the side of democracy, and we are in favor of the free will of the people deciding the future of countries.

GLOBAL SOFTWARE PROBLEM

QUESTION- The other day, a large part of the world was affected by a problem that is seen as the biggest IT crisis in history so far. We were also affected. There were disruptions in some flights, money could not be withdrawn from some banks. Naturally, we were all worried and scared at those hours, and we have once again explained the importance of national and domestic software. Where are we on this issue as Turkey, should we feel safe?

We don't have a problem right now due to this crisis. Our friends have taken precautions, whether at Turkish Airlines or in all other units. Currently, our work is proceeding with minor disruptions. In other words, we don't have the same problem that exists in the world. We are better off. If it is necessary to take additional measures on this matter, we will take them. Our friends are continuing their work on this without interruption. Just as we do not leave any area empty, we do not leave this area empty either, and we are taking the necessary steps quickly without victimizing our citizens.

MISERY WAGE FOR PENSIONERS

QUESTION- One of the most important regulations that the Parliament discussed before the holiday was tax steps and the regulation to increase the lowest pension to 12 thousand 500 liras. There are some reports in the press that a new preparation is being made that includes radical changes in the pension system. Can we learn your views on this matter?

We are always with our pensioners, just like every segment of our society. We show maximum effort not to let our pensioners be crushed by inflation, and we do more than we can within our means. We are trying to do the best we can within the available means. As a government that has made it a principle to overcome obstacles, we are constantly creating new roadmaps to increase the welfare of all our citizens. We act with the understanding of how to take the most rational steps without compromising economic stability and without falling into the traps of populism. In fact, our Group Chairman Abdullah Güler made the necessary statement. He announced that the lowest pension would be 12 thousand 500 liras. Despite all this, you see the opposition saying "minimum wage should be 17 thousand" without thinking, without consulting, without talking. Unfortunately, they do not carry the burden. We measure, we cut. How can we manage this without upsetting economic balances? We are looking at this, and we are taking our steps accordingly. That is why we will bring this issue to the agenda in the new legislative term, God willing. We will continue on our way like that. Whatever our group chairman announced, those are the issues on our agenda, the rest is just rumors.