Breaking News... Erdoğan signals 'we intend to draft a new constitution'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered journalists' questions on the plane returning from Turkmenistan. In his statement, Erdoğan said, "We intend to draft a new constitution." 

Emphasizing that the relations between Turkey and Turkmenistan, based on a shared history, language, religion, and culture, are strengthening day by day, Erdoğan drew attention to the strong course of economic and commercial cooperation.

Touching upon the role of Turkish businesspeople in the development of Turkmenistan, Erdoğan stated, "Our businesspeople have completed projects worth approximately 55 billion dollars since Turkmenistan's independence. Currently, 19 projects worth 10 billion dollars are being carried out. In this sense, Turkmenistan is the second country where our firms have carried out the most projects after the Russian Federation. We are striving to increase our trade volume, which exceeded 2 billion dollars in 2024, to 5 billion dollars."

Stating that they also attach great importance to the human dimension of the relations, President Erdoğan expressed his satisfaction that Turkmen youth prefer Turkey first for university education and that they contribute to the development of their country after their education.

Reminding that Turkmenistan has successfully maintained the permanent neutrality status it obtained with a UN resolution on December 12, 1995, for 30 years, Erdoğan said, "They are making a special effort to transform the concept of neutrality into a philosophy of peace. As the first country to recognize Turkmenistan's independence, we were among the leading countries to support this status, and we continue to support their vision for peacebuilding."

Stating that he emphasized regional and global peace in his address at the forum, Erdoğan noted that he also drew attention to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

President Erdoğan, who also held bilateral contacts within the scope of the visit, reported that he met with the President and National Leader of Turkmenistan, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharing the details of his meeting with Russian President Putin, Erdoğan stated the following;

We exchanged views with Mr. Putin regarding our bilateral relations, the war in Ukraine, and regional issues. Pointing out that we find the dialogue initiated through Mr. Trump's efforts positive, we discussed with him the contributions our country can make to peace efforts.

Stating that they witnessed with pride the level of development Turkmenistan has reached and the contribution of Turkish firms to this process during the visit, Erdoğan expressed his hope that his contacts would lead to auspicious outcomes for friendly and brotherly countries and for international peace.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR 

We held a very productive, comprehensive, and in-depth meeting with Mr. Putin. During our meeting, I specifically expressed that I am waiting for him at any time. We discussed that we need to come together as soon as possible for this. He also said, "I will keep my word." I hope we will realize this visit as soon as possible. Our relations with Russia are not relations that run on daily interest calculations; they are built on a deep-rooted history, a strong diplomatic foundation, and mutual trust. We mainly discussed the war and peace efforts. Like all actors, Mr. Putin knows very well where Turkey stands on this issue. We believe that this war should have ended long ago; we state this clearly to all our interlocutors.

As you know, US President Donald Trump is involved in the matter. In addition to Trump's involvement, we are also encouraging America. Our Foreign Minister, Mr. Hakan, is in constant contact with the relevant parties in America. We also conduct telephone diplomacy with leaders from time to time. After this meeting we held with Putin, I hope we will also have the opportunity to evaluate the peace plan with US President Trump. Peace is not far away; we see it. All we need to do is turn our direction toward where peace lies. The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of reckoning. Such a situation would only harm Russia and Ukraine and provide no benefit. Everyone needs freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. This must be ensured.

MARCH 10 AGREEMENT IN SYRIA

The implementation of the March 10 agreement in Syria is a process that closely concerns the future of the region. Achieving the goals envisioned by the agreement will be the most auspicious outcome for Syria. With the implementation of the agreement, Syria's territorial integrity, unity, solidarity, stability, and march toward a prosperous future will be fortified. It has been seen in the recent past that divisions and conflicts have gained nothing for Syria. It is important for the Syrian administration to act with the vision of bringing together all the elements that make up Syria. This approach is valuable and deserves to be supported. Many centers may have plans or dreams about Syria. However, what is important is the common vision of the future held by the Syrian people. The long-suffering people of Syria are the ones building realistic dreams. The implementation of this agreement will thwart the games of those who set traps. We want peace, tranquility, and prosperity for the entire brotherly Syrian people, without distinguishing between Turkmen, Arab, Kurd, Sunni, and Alawite. The implementation of the March 10 Agreement will undoubtedly strengthen this will.

WILL TURKISH SOLDIERS BE IN GAZA?

There is no proposal that has reached us yet, nor is there a demand. We hear rumors that such a meeting might be held. As long as such meetings are held for peace, let us take the step; we are ready at any moment. On the other hand, Israel's ceasefire violations continue. Since October 11, more than 370 of our brothers and sisters have been martyred. Unfortunately, Israel is not fulfilling its commitments. Difficulties in the entry of humanitarian aid persist. It is essential that Israel keeps its promises, fully complies with the ceasefire, and allows life in Gaza to return to normal. Winter conditions have begun to make themselves felt. It is necessary to urgently solve the housing problems and the issue of meeting basic needs in Gaza. For this, the security problem created by Israel must be eliminated. Turkey never shies away from taking responsibility.

We are currently always filled with excitement about this. But as you know, we have spent over 50 years in the European Union membership process. Unfortunately, they have stalled us with such platitudes. Countries that were not previously in the process have been admitted to the European Union. But unfortunately, Turkey, with its population of 86 million, its industry, and its capacity, has still not been admitted to the EU today, even though it would add strength to the Union as such a powerful country. The stalling continues. I insistently tell my Foreign Minister, 'Wherever you meet with Europeans, always remind them of this.' I also continue to say this to the leaders I meet with. We are the second-largest land force in NATO. Our breakthroughs in the defense industry in recent years are known to everyone. During this process, we faced secret and open restrictions, and even embargoes, but we continued to develop our defense capabilities. We are ready to strengthen our cooperation in every field with European countries, with whom we have ties of friendship and alliance, on a win-win basis. It will also be a gain for them if Europe looks at our relations with a strategic vision. The steps to be taken by Europe will build the process from here on.

BETTING AND MATCH-FIXING ALLEGATIONS IN FOOTBALL 

Football is, as you know, actually a means of entertainment for millions of people. It is not something followed only by a certain country or a certain region, but a way to relieve stress that almost the whole world watches by packing stadiums and viewing through screens. Indeed, we have always watched and followed this from our youth until we reached our current position. Now, I continue to watch matches constantly, especially on television. However, these recent developments have saddened us significantly. The fact that many names, from administrators to managers and players, are involved here and that these people's names are mixed up in such scandals, and that this is happening in my country, has truly saddened us as a President. It has left us astonished. How do these people, who receive millions of liras in transfer fees, get involved in this, how do they enter into this? You look at the managers; how do these managers do this, how do they get involved? I am stating this very clearly and underlining it: the spirit of football is justice. If we cannot establish this justice, the results coming from the pitches will never satisfy us. Why? Because a result far from justice will emerge. It is impossible for this to satisfy us. Beyond all this, we are on the side of the noble and clean spirit of football. I believe that this will be established after the judicial mechanism works fairly. No matter where it comes from, no matter which club it comes from, whether it is Club A or Club B, it makes no difference. Justice is very, very important to us here. Currently, I think the judiciary is performing this duty in the most ideal way. We will continue this struggle to the end, especially for the sake of the voice of the stands, the dreams of the youth, and this nation's longing for clean football.

"God willing, we must participate in the World Cup this time by defeating Serbia as well"

As you know, Bosnia and Herzegovina was not an ordinary team; it was a strong team. Against that strong team, our squad actually had two or three missing players; they could not participate. Despite those absences, they put on a successful performance and won that match by that margin. It is actually a good start. They handled the first two matches well. Now, of course, there is a tough match ahead of us: Serbia. The Serbia match is important. God willing, we must participate in the World Cup this time by defeating Serbia as well. After the match, we went to the locker room. They asked us there, 'What will be the result if we go to the World Cup?' and so on. You know what an athlete always expects, right? We said, 'If we make it to the World Cup, we will hopefully gift you our domestic and national brand, TOGG.' Hopefully, our team will pass these qualifiers without any accidents or trouble and take its place directly in the 2027 World Cup. Our nation is with them, and we are with them.

NEW CONSTITUTION 

We set out to achieve concrete results. If we remain in the abstract, would it have any meaning? It would not. As of now, we have a desire to draft a constitution that is civil, libertarian, and inclusive. Let us do this so that our nation can say, 'This is my constitution.' They should not have any concerns about their own future. As the AK Party, we gave the promise of a new constitution especially in the squares, and all political parties have made the same commitment to the nation. Therefore, we will take ownership of this work together. Especially as the People's Alliance, we will achieve this with the work we do. We have determination on this matter. Beyond all this, our party is currently in the position of being the most prepared party for new constitution efforts. The constitution working team we established is constantly carrying out this work. I receive briefings from them from time to time. Besides all this, we have colleagues within our MKYK and MYK teams who are working solely on these constitutional efforts. Together with them, we are preparing a constitution that will leave no room for doubt, one that is not obsolete, and one that will make our nation say, 'It is my constitution in every aspect.' On the other hand, there is no calendar for this. You work continuously, and as a result of this work, when the time and hour come, you take the step. This period will be the period when this matter is brought to a conclusion.

Above all, this last sentence is very, very important. We are truly concerned about the population growth rate. It is essential that we increase it. I learned today that Russia, which used to say 'at least two children,' is now also saying 'at least three children.' When we said this, there were many debates, and we were heavily criticized. But these developments prove that we were right. When I speak of the Year of the Family, I want to express the sanctity of the family. The family is sacred to us. It is sacred in every aspect. It is important that we revive this sanctity with mothers, fathers, and all siblings. The more we revive the family, and the more we bond and connect with each other within the family, the stronger a nation we become. A strong family, a strong nation. In other words, strong nations are born from strong families. If you do not have a strong family structure, you cannot be a strong nation. Are we experiencing this problem? In my opinion, we are. But are we hopeless? Never... Because it is in the seeds of this nation. That is, we will hopefully stand up again, we will be reborn from our ashes. This nation will carry out the movement of construction and revival with those strong families. At this point, protecting family values will have very, very important implications for our country.

Of course, while talking about the family and the protection of the family, education is also very, very important. We are not neglecting this area either. Look, our number of universities has now reached 208, but we started from 76. Those who asked us, 'Why so many universities?' have now started to say, 'You were right.' Can a strong nation be born from a country where there is no education? For a strong nation, there must be a strong infrastructure in education in every aspect so that a strong nation can emerge from it. As our brother İbrahim Tatlıses famously said, 'Was there an Oxford in Urfa and we didn't go?' He was looking for a university in Urfa, and we have established universities in all 81 provinces. Now, there is no province left without a university. And we are proud of this. High-quality, strong, and career-oriented professors have started working in these places. You go to Ağrı, and our university in Ağrı is, mashallah, strong in every aspect. In Hakkari, it is strong in every aspect. I mean, there is nothing missing; they have everything. Now, our children who rank at the top are emerging from those places. How did this happen? If that education had not been there, would these children have emerged from Hakkari, Ağrı, Van, or our other cities? They would not have. But now they are emerging. I believe that our families will now take care of their children in a different, stronger way. They no longer carry the worry of saying, 'There is no university in my province, in my city.' They say, 'Now there is a university in my province too. Therefore, I will raise and prepare my child, and they will go to the university in our hometown, and hopefully, they will graduate from there by developing themselves.'

News Source: 12punto