Turkey’s doors are closed to terrorists and those who play politics under the guise of terrorist organizations, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
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The Turkish leader addresses the nation at rallies and on social networks ahead of local elections on March 31. Erdogan accuses the opposition of having ties with terrorists and of receiving instructions from “Turkey’s ill-wishers.”
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“Of course, we are ready to talk about everything with everyone, but our door is closed both to terrorists and to those who play politics under the guise of terrorist organizations. Turkey has paid the price for terrorism for 40 years, and we will not tolerate it for another 40 years,” the Turkish leader wrote on the social network X.
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According to him, the country is eliminating the (terrorist) threat after the common suffering we have experienced.
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“Now the time has come to relieve our country of this burden, not only in terms of security, but also in all other dimensions,” the Turkish leader said.
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The Turkish leader continues a series of rallies in cities and provinces of the country in preparation for local elections on March 31. For Erdogan, these elections are important as the ruling party aims to regain control of administration in regions where opposition members are in power, particularly in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Erdogan previously announced the upcoming municipal elections on March 31 as the last in his political career. Later, the official representative of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP, Ak Parti) in Turkey, Omer Celik, noted that Erdogan’s statement about the “last elections” does not mean his departure from politics.
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The Turkish Armed Forces regularly carry out targeted air operations against militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), banned in Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said that Ankara expects to “resolve the border security issue” with Iraq in the summer. According to him, the Turkish side also seeks to create a security corridor 30-40 kilometers deep in Syria.
