Erdoğan's 'new Constitution' statement: 'We are sincere, we are open to consensus'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the closing session of his party's Kızılcahamam Camp.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's remarks:

"HAMAS IS DEFENDING ANATOLIA"

"I pray to my Lord that our meeting will be auspicious. The Palestinian cause and the massacre in Gaza were at the top of our agenda at our camp, as always. The Palestinian people have been subjected to oppression for 76 years, and their lands are being usurped. We know very well how difficult, important, and heroic a struggle our Palestinian brothers and sisters are waging. Hamas and the Palestinian people are not only defending their own lands, they are also defending Anatolia. What is being tested in Gaza and Palestine is our humanity along with our Muslim identity."

NEW CONSTITUTION

The AK Party is a party that has not lost its reformist spirit since its foundation. We have implemented significant reforms across a wide spectrum. We brought Turkey out of the darkness of the tutelage regime. We rescued the national will from the darkness of coup plotters. We put an end to fears. We gave self-confidence and courage to a country that had closed in on itself. We have given this country the golden years of its Republican history in every field. We do not consider these sufficient. Being content with the status quo means closing the door to the new and to innovation. The AK Party is not a status-quo party, and it will not be.

Let us sit down, talk, join hands, and together rid Turkey of the shame of a coup constitution with the broadest possible consensus. We are sincere regarding a new constitution, and we are open to consensus. We do not find it right for this issue to be turned into a political arm-wrestling match.

MESSAGE ON IRAQ AND SYRIA

Turkey cannot attain peace until the swamps that produce terrorism in northern Iraq and Syria are drained. It cannot feel safe. As the terrorist organization melts away, our democracy will flourish.

It is important for Turkey to leave the election period behind and look ahead. We are watching the efforts of certain fringe merchants, who have been purged from politics and expelled from their own parties, to stay relevant not just with sadness, but with great astonishment.

Our nation has become a bit tired due to the consecutive elections. Politics has undoubtedly been affected by this as well. We have 4 years ahead of us for the presidency and 5 years for the municipalities. We must evaluate this period very well with a vision that will most effectively and efficiently lead our country to its goals."