President Erdoğan: A two-state solution is now inevitable

Erdoğan spoke at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. After the two leaders made assessments regarding the current agenda during the joint press conference, they answered questions from members of the press.

Stating that Israel is carrying out attacks on Gaza without targeting and that 13 thousand civilians, including women and children, have been massacred in the region, Erdoğan said, "A two-state solution is now inevitable."

Regarding the Eurofighter issue, Erdoğan said, "Do not threaten us with this; whether Germany provides them or not, Germany is not the only place with fighter jets; there are many places we can get them from."

Scholz's statements:

-We will talk about EU membership with Turkey. We will develop our cooperation in every field. We have a very busy schedule.

Erdoğan's statements:

-We will discuss all relations between Turkey and Germany comprehensively. I will speak openly and clearly here because October 7 is mentioned as a starting point, but what happened afterwards is not discussed. Unfortunately, 13 thousand Palestinians have been killed. Besides this, there is almost no place left called Gaza.

-They talk about Hamas, Hamas, day and night. Can Israel's presence and power of weapons be compared to Hamas? Does Israel have nuclear weapons? But Israel will not say it has them because they are very good at using lies. Is there financial support for Hamas? No. The support that should be given to Palestine is not being given. Places of worship, churches, and hospitals have been hit.

-The bombing of hospitals and the killing of children are not in the Torah, nor are they in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Are we going to stand by with our hands tied in the face of this? If we remain silent, we will not be able to account for it to history. We owe nothing to Israel. As a Prime Minister, I was the first to take an anti-Semitic stance.

-We will discuss these during our visit, but besides all this, an important issue we need to talk about is how we will solve this, how much Turkey and Germany can contribute to a humanitarian ceasefire, how we will take steps, are we in for this? The German President is going to Israel; I made a proposal to him for a humanitarian ceasefire.

-If we can take this step, we can save this place from a ring of fire. What is the number of hostages in Israel, and what is the number of hostages in the hands of Hamas? Israel has many times more. We must also see that hostages of many years are in the hands of Israel.

-We did not make a distinction between Europe and Africa in the grain initiative. 40 percent of what came through the Black Sea Grain Corridor went to Europe, 14 percent to Africa, and 14 percent came to us.

-In addition to taking a step between Germany and Turkey, we also need to hold talks for decisive steps. Conducting defense industry relations is in our mutual interest. Our greatest wish is for the Turkish community in Germany, whose population has reached 3.5 million, to live in peace. One of the areas of cooperation with Germany is the well-known issue of migration.

-One of the main agendas of our meetings is Turkey's EU membership process. We have reminded that we desire this process to gain momentum again. We attach importance to the contributions Germany will make in this context. Turkey has been waiting at Europe's door for 52 years. Before visa liberalization, we will evaluate the issue regarding the acceleration of the visa process for our citizens.

-Humanitarian aid to Gaza must go without hindrance. We have sent 10 planes so far. The whole concern is to stop the bloodshed; most recently, 27 cancer patients and their companions came to Turkey. I visited them; our wish is to bring more patients to our country and treat them. What has been experienced has once again shown that a two-state solution based on 1967 borders is inevitable. Our wish is for Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace. Everyone must take responsibility for a fair solution.

Q&A

Scholz:

-Israel has the right to defend itself. It was a heinous terrorist attack by Hamas against young people who wanted peace between Israel and Palestine; Israel must defend itself. We must reduce the number of civilian casualties. We continue our contributions so that humanitarian aid can reach the Gaza Strip.

-Hamas is exploiting the hostages and the people there as a human shield. We are ready to contribute to peace and tranquility. We want the hostages taken by Hamas to be released. We discussed the issue of pausing the conflict at the EU summit; situations such as ensuring access for humanitarian aid during these pauses and the departure of foreign nationals should be done without questioning Israel's right to defend itself.

Erdoğan:

-We are one of the leading countries of NATO. Turkey is not an ordinary country in NATO; it is among the top five, and currently, regardless of what anyone thinks within NATO, everyone is siding with Ukraine between Russia and Ukraine; we are talking to both, but we were the ones who took all the grain to Europe and Africa in the 33 million-ton grain corridor.

-Has Israel killed thousands of Palestinians right now? Yes, it has. Has it destroyed hospitals? Yes, it has. It is hitting places of worship. As a Muslim, I am uncomfortable with this; well, as a Christian, are you not uncomfortable with churches being hit? For us, there should be no distinction between Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. I was the first leader to fight against anti-Semitism. Germany talks about the support it gives to Israel.

-Whether Germany provides Eurofighters or not, are they the only ones with unmanned aerial vehicles? Do not threaten us with these; ask us questions that are humane and conscientious. We will give you the answer accordingly.

Scholz:

-It became possible to export grain again, but it would be good to maintain this. Israel needs to defend itself against Hamas. The incredible military violence being carried out from this region must be stopped. Contributions must be made to end this, and we are doing so, and at the same time, the number of civilian casualties must be minimized.

Humanitarian aid must be provided and hostages must be released. Hamas must no longer carry out the actions it did on October 7. We have different views, but despite this, a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine will be the perspective for the future; both the EU and Germany support this.