Appointed to DEM Party municipalities: Erdoğan remains silent on trustees

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the opening program of the 40th COMCEC Meeting.

While it was expected that Erdoğan would also speak about the "trustees" appointed this morning to Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti, it was noted that he did not make any statement on the matter.

ISRAEL'S ATTACKS ON GAZA AND LEBANON

Highlights from Erdoğan's remarks are as follows:

"There is the most brutal genocide of the last century in Gaza. Our Lebanese brothers and sisters have sacrificed many of their children. For 13 months, there has been no pain, hardship, suffering, or oppression they have not experienced. Our Palestinian brothers and sisters have not compromised their dignity. They have never stepped back from their will to live freely in their own homeland. The Zionist regime and its supporters have committed every kind of oppression and genocide for 13 months, but they could not bring our Palestinian brothers and sisters to their knees.

As Turkey, we are one of the countries that have displayed the most determined stance against Israel's genocide since the first day. We do not bow to the threats of the Zionist lobby, which holds international organizations and the media captive, targeting myself and our country. We are trying to help our brothers and sisters with all the means at our disposal. So far, we have delivered over 85 thousand tons of aid to Gaza. We are the country that has delivered the most aid to Gaza. We have sacrificed a trade volume of approximately 9.5 billion dollars. We are doing our best to ensure that the perpetrators of genocide are held accountable under international law. We have filed an application to intervene in the genocide case opened against Israel. We have clearly expressed our reaction on every international platform.

RECOGNITION OF PALESTINE

Israel recently took a decision that overstepped its bounds regarding the banning of the agency. We believe that our member countries should provide more support to the agency during this period in the face of Israel's increasing pressure. On this occasion, I reiterate my call to all countries here to recognize the State of Palestine. We must show our solidarity more strongly than ever to produce lasting solutions. It is of great importance that the Islamic world puts aside its differences of opinion and supports the people of Palestine and Lebanon. Otherwise, we cannot prevent the fire from engulfing our entire region.

'WE CAN CONTRIBUTE TOGETHER'

Uncertainties, such as global inflation reaching the peaks of the last 60-70 years and not yet falling to desired levels, are also putting pressure on economic activities. Energy and supply security, freight costs, and supply chain disruptions continue to negatively affect global trade in goods and services. Increasing protectionism prevents the growth of global trade volume. We can overcome this by strengthening our cooperation. I believe that coordination among our member countries is critical for common solutions in order to maintain global economic stability. We can encourage growth and contribute together to accelerating the global recovery."

Furthermore, President Erdoğan did not speak about the trustee decision at the meeting.