25.06.2025 22:10
After the NATO Summit, President Erdoğan made statements in response to a question from a reporter about whether Trump mentioned the casinos he plans to establish in Gaza. Erdoğan replied, "Since my stance is clear, Mr. Trump is such a smart person that he knows well whom to ask which questions. And such a thing did not come up between us anyway."
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who went to The Hague, Netherlands for the NATO Summit, made statements at a press conference. President Erdoğan gave an interesting answer to a journalist's question about "Gaza" regarding the meeting with Trump.
INTERESTING "GAZA" QUESTION TO ERDOĞAN The journalist asked whether Trump mentioned the casinos he plans to establish in Gaza during the meeting. Stating that his stance on this issue is clear, President Erdoğan replied: "We had a meeting with Mr. Trump from around eleven to eleven-thirty in the evening. We had our meeting for about one to one and a half hours. However, the issue of the coastal areas of Gaza being casinos, as you expressed, did not come up in our meeting.
"TRUMP KNOWS WELL WHO TO ASK WHICH QUESTION" If such a thing were to come up, my answer would probably be clear. My stance on this issue is clear. Since my stance is clear, Mr. Trump is such a smart person that he knows well who to ask which question. And such a thing did not happen between us.
Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
"In the council session, we decided to increase our defense spending to five percent of our gross domestic product over a ten-year period. This decision, taken in a climate where existing crises are deepening and new crises are emerging every day, is a necessity for NATO. We are allies who are most affected by the threat of terrorism and directly impacted by many crises in our region.
"OUR DEFENSE INDUSTRY IS BEING POINTED OUT" Almost all of the events currently dominating the international agenda are taking place in Turkey's immediate vicinity. We are striving to keep our country away from all these crises, hot conflicts, and tensions. We place great importance on increasing our deterrence and strengthening our defense. The significant leap made by the Turkish defense industry in recent years is being pointed out globally. We have a say on a global scale, especially in many areas including armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles.
"WE ARE AMONG THE COUNTRIES CLOSEST TO REACHING 5%" Our defense spending is currently above the two percent level, which was the target of previous summits. In fact, in terms of our current infrastructure and defense industry investments, the resources we allocate for innovation, and our international efforts, we are among the countries closest to reaching five percent. I find it appropriate for many allies to come to the same line as us in taking on more responsibility in the face of threats and challenges. Of course, it is not possible to enhance the effectiveness of the alliance just by increasing defense spending. There also needs to be a sincere establishment of mutual understanding and cooperation among allies. In this context, we took the lead in reflecting the understanding of removing barriers to trade in defense industry products among allies without any conditions in the alliance documents.
"I ENSURED THE REFLECTION OF THE TERROR THREAT IN THE SUMMIT COMMUNIQUE" We hope for the implementation of all its components. I emphasized that the European Union's initiatives in the field of defense and security should complement NATO. I particularly stressed that the full inclusion of non-member allies in the union's defense industry initiatives would be in the interest of all of Europe. Ultimately, the increasing defense capabilities in Europe are in the interest of the entire Euro-Atlantic region. Our hope is that this inclusive approach will dominate the continent. The approach of the NATO Secretary General, based on the development of the defense industry from Texas to Ankara, is extremely valuable in this regard.
As you know, Turkey is among the allies that highlight the alliance's role in combating terrorism. Indeed, terrorism has been recorded as one of the two current main threats to NATO. This time in The Hague, I emphasized that the fight against terrorism can only be successful with the sincere solidarity of the allies. I ensured the reflection of this threat in the summit communiqué.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR The war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing for more than three years, has had both regional and global effects. Casualties and destruction are increasing on both sides. As Turkey, we continue our intense efforts to end the war with a just and sustainable peace. From the talks we hosted in Istanbul in March 2022, which were left unfinished, we obtained concrete results such as the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the exchange of prisoners of war. Our belief in diplomacy, combined with the trust the parties have in us, led to mediation once again in Istanbul. Significant progress was made regarding additional prisoner and body exchanges in the meetings hosted by us. Additionally, an open exchange of views regarding a possible ceasefire was held. I am hopeful that a window of opportunity for a ceasefire and lasting peace has opened. This should not be wasted. Our goal is to pave the way for a lasting peace by supporting additional concrete steps among the parties. With the support of our allies, I maintain my hope for the war to be concluded as soon as possible. As I always say, there are no losers in a just peace.
"NO ONE WITH A CONSCIENCE CAN REMAIN SILENT TO ISRAEL'S ATROCITIES" We see that the threats and crises in the Middle East are becoming more serious every day. I once again draw attention to the nearly two-year-long oppression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. Look, so far, 56,000 Gazans, mostly children and women, have lost their lives in Israeli attacks. Again, mostly children and women, 129,000 Gazans have been injured. 80% of Gaza has been destroyed. 95% of the health infrastructure has been damaged. Churches, mosques, schools, and hospitals have been bombed. More than 2 million of our Gazan brothers are struggling to survive under very difficult conditions while bombs continuously rain down on them.
```html
The Israeli government is obstructing even the most basic necessities from entering Gaza. Due to Israel's blockades and attacks, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has turned into a humanitarian disaster. No person with a conscience can remain silent in the face of such brutality. One should be silent while babies are sleeping, not while babies are being killed. From here, I call on everyone who values human life to raise their voices against oppression. However, we observe that the international community, especially the relevant institutions, have been insufficient in stopping Israel.
"WE WELCOME THE CEASEFIRE" Our organization is filled with examples that show that nothing can be achieved through war, destruction, aggression, and threats. We welcome the ceasefire achieved through the efforts of President Trump. We expect both parties to unconditionally comply with my dear friend Trump's call. We hope that the declaration of a ceasefire will be quickly transformed into lasting peace. I believe that everyone, including allies, must put their hands under the stone to ensure peace in the Middle East.
THE NEXT NATO SUMMIT WILL BE IN TURKEY We will continue to do our part in this matter. Esteemed members of the press, we have held meetings with many leaders as part of the summit. In our contacts, we discussed ways to improve our bilateral relations with our allies as well as the topics on the summit agenda. The proposal for our country to host the NATO summit next year has also been finalized in our summit. We are very pleased to host our allies in Turkey next year.
President Erdoğan also answered questions from the press after his statements:
THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY IN AZERBAIJAN "The Russian Army has now left Azerbaijan. They are not there. Since they have left, this issue no longer holds any significance. I went to the New Karabakh. There is nothing like that there. Currently, Azerbaijan is striving to bring that area under the viable governance of the Azerbaijani state. They are taking steps in terms of infrastructure and superstructure, and they are making very serious investments; may it be beneficial.
"TURKEY IS THE PEACE COUNTRY OF THE REGION" As long as there is no attack on Turkey, there is no possibility of an attack on Turkey, and currently, there is no such thing. Turkey is the peace country of the region. It is making every effort to ensure that peace prevails in its region. However, alongside all this, we will continue to stand against the oppression, especially against Israel's unbearable and intolerable attitude. Until today, as in Gaza, we have stood against the oppressors in the region and will continue to do so. We especially continue to stand by the oppressed. Currently, no humanitarian aid has been sent to the oppressed in Gaza for months. If humanitarian aid does not reach these people, what will happen to them? We are currently telling the strong countries, 'Come and stand against Israel; it is necessary to open the doors to Gaza for these humanitarian aids to be delivered.' Even the Red Cross is currently not being allowed by Israel. Humanitarian aid is not reaching these people in Gaza even through the Red Cross. If the Red Cross could operate, it would have the opportunity to deliver food, medicine, clothing, and all these aids through that channel. But unfortunately, even that is not available right now.
EUROFIGHTER ISSUE First of all, as of now, the steps we will take in the next 10 years will of course come from the national budget. By gradually allocating the necessary share from the national budget, we will provide our support to NATO. We have had discussions regarding the Eurofighter; we are continuing to do so. We are in talks with Germany and the UK. There are positive developments in this regard. After we realize this, we will have taken our steps, inshallah.
WHERE WILL THE 2026 NATO SUMMIT BE HELD? It was held in Istanbul before. We are having discussions with the relevant friends. Perhaps we will make the decision within the next week. We have no tolerance for wasting time. We will inform the NATO General Secretariat of the decision we will make at the meeting we will hold this time, just like the summit we held in Istanbul before.
F-35 AND S-400 STATEMENT In our meeting with Mr. Trump, we did not discuss the S-400. It was not on our agenda. That issue is a done deal. We discussed the F-35 issue. In this regard, we made a payment of about 1.3-400 billion dollars. We saw that Mr. Trump was well-intentioned regarding the acquisition of the F-35s. Our responsible friends are continuing their work regarding the maintenance and repair of our F-16s and the acquisition of F-35s. We also have our work regarding Eurofighter. We are continuing our efforts with the UK and Germany. Our hope is that our goodwill is positively received by the UK and Germany. Our work continues.
THE PROCESS OF A TERROR-FREE TURKEY We have no issues with the Kurdish citizens living in the region as Presidents. Things are going quite well right now. They have a strong potential in Parliament. Since they have no issues, this progress continues. They requested an appointment, and I accepted Ms. Pervin along with the late Mr. Sırrı Süreyya. We met with them. I believe they have appointment requests again. We will carry out our meetings with them soon; there is no issue at hand. In my country, we are all one, whether Turkish, Kurdish, Laz, Circassian, or Arab. It is my duty to protect the integrity of my country. We will continue to do this in the best way possible. Let’s say it is sufficient to negotiate; thank you very much. I wish you all a good evening, thank you.
.
```