Erdoğan: We have crossed out Netanyahu
Responding to journalists' questions on the plane returning from Kazakhstan, AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "Netanyahu is no longer someone we can consider an interlocutor. We have crossed him out."
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AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered journalists' questions on the plane while returning from Kazakhstan, where he attended the 10th Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States.
In response to the question, "After these massacres, has Israel ceased to be a subject of discussion for you? Will you talk to Israel?" Erdoğan replied, "I currently have no contact. Our MIT (National Intelligence Organization) Chief İbrahim Kalın is in talks with the Israeli side. Of course, he is also in contact with Palestine and Hamas. Let me say this: Netanyahu is no longer someone we can consider an interlocutor in any way. We have crossed him out. I will make the decision on this matter through the discussions we will hold at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit. But other than that, completely severing ties—especially in international diplomacy—is not something that happens."
"WE CAN BE A GUARANTOR COUNTRY"
Regarding the question, "When issues such as the guarantor status and an international peacekeeping force come to the agenda, will Turkey take part in such military formations?" Erdoğan gave the following response:
"We have been saying this constantly since the moment these events began: we said that if a guarantor role falls to Turkey, we are ready to take on the duty; we can be a guarantor country. In Cyprus, Greece can be a guarantor country, the UK can be a guarantor country; if Turkey is naturally a guarantor country, why shouldn't there be a similar structure in Gaza? What could be more natural than Turkey being a guarantor country in Gaza? In other words, we can assume the role of a guarantor country there as well. What form this will take, events will show, and time will tell. This will have a security dimension, there will naturally be a political dimension, and along with all of these, there is already a historical and cultural dimension. There is a structure shaped by this historical background, and as Turkey, we must assume a leading role. This will be a development that effectively shapes history, the present, and the future."