President Erdoğan’s emphasis on Gaza in Spain: The ceasefire should not remain on paper

President Erdoğan spoke at a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Spain, where he went as part of his official visit. Erdoğan stated that Spain’s decision to recently recognize Palestine as a state should be an example for other countries and emphasized that ceasefire plans should not remain on paper.

“SPAIN IS ONE OF OUR FRIENDS WHO SUPPORT TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP”

Highlights from Erdoğan’s statements at the joint press conference are as follows: “With today’s meeting and the agreements we signed, we have taken important steps to expand our relations to new areas. We are about to reach the target of 20 billion euros in bilateral trade volume. Our next goal is to reach 25 billion euros in the next 5 years.

We also discussed Turkey-European Union relations during our meetings. Spain is one of our friends that best understands Turkey’s contributions to the European Union and has given the strongest support to our membership process from the very beginning. We hope that this attitude will continue to grow stronger in the coming period. We also discussed with the esteemed head of government the increasing threat of Islamophobia and xenophobia across Europe. Unfortunately, the situation resulting from the European Parliament elections has increased our concerns. The alliance of civilizations is an important platform in combating such challenges. As we approach the 20th anniversary of the alliance, we also discussed what we can do going forward and confirmed our support for the alliance.

“SPAIN’S DECISION TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINE SHOULD BE AN EXAMPLE FOR OTHER COUNTRIES”

In our consultations, developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially Gaza, were also in our focus. The decision taken by Spain to recognize Palestine is very important. It is our sincere hope that this attitude of Spain will set an example for other countries that have not yet recognized Palestine. I would like to wholeheartedly thank my dear friend Sanches for his resilient stance and the people of Spain for their unwavering support for Gaza. Mr. Sanches made great contributions to mobilizing global conscience against the atrocities. As two countries, we will continue to work together to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Establishing a permanent ceasefire and ensuring the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid is our priority. We will also monitor the implementation of the decision taken by the United Nations Security Council on Monday.

The Russia-Ukraine war was also on our agenda. We confirmed our strong support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. We once again stated that we believe that the establishment of a fair, comprehensive and lasting peace for Ukraine is possible through negotiations.

“PLANS TO ENSURE PEACE SHOULD NOT REMAIN ON PAPER”

We will evaluate positively, as we have done so far, every plan and decision that will ensure a just and lasting peace, stop the bloodshed, and bring peace to both the Palestinian lands, including Gaza, and our region. The important thing is that these plans and decisions are handled in a sincere and peace-oriented manner, do not remain on paper, and can be put into practice. We said from the very beginning of the process that we wanted the bloodshed to stop. To achieve this, we met with everyone we needed to meet with, and these contacts are still continuing.

“ISRAEL DOES WHAT IT KNOWS IN PALESTINE”

In the votes held at the UN General Assembly, countries overwhelmingly demonstrated the need for an urgent and permanent ceasefire. Only those who want peace have tried to make their voices heard in the squares of the countries for months. It is positive that the United Nations Security Council has reached such a platform. But unfortunately, the UN suffered great damage in this process. The implementation of this decision by Israel and its efforts to have its way in Palestine are already leading to its own destruction at any moment. Members of the Security Council, especially the United States, should stand by this decision and put the necessary pressure on Israel to ensure an immediate ceasefire. This process will not continue like this. Our wish is that Israel will now give up these attacks and come to a position that will bring permanent peace to the region. We are following all developments closely.

“Unfortunately, the fate of the world is in the hands of 5 countries”

You know, I have a book, “A More Just World is Possible”. Another of my books is “The World is Bigger than 5”. Unfortunately, the fate of the world is currently in the hands of 5 countries. When one of these 5 countries says “no”, the issue ends. In the latest incident, one of these 5 countries always sides with Israel. They don’t care at all that 40 thousand people died there, 100 thousand people died, children, women died, journalists died because they sided with Israel. So, let’s say Sanches comes out alone and unfurls this flag. Then you see that 2 more Western countries are joining this. We need to popularize this. Written and visual media also have a lot of work to do here. If nearly 150 media members were killed by Israel, should we say this continues? Will we not stand against them? So we need to take this step together. That’s what we’re doing now. In other words, Israel continues its massacres ruthlessly, and especially America’s stance while Israel continues these massacres seriously saddens us.

KAVALA AND DEMİRTAŞ QUESTION: Türkiye IS A STATE OF LAW

Erdoğan answered a Spanish journalist’s question regarding the trial processes of former HDP Selahattin Demirtaş, who was convicted of the Kobani incidents, and Osman Kavala, who was convicted of the Gezi incidents, as follows:

“Turkey is a state of law. The judiciary makes the decisions. Our state of law has made its decisions regarding these names. One of these names caused the death of 100 people and caused deaths in the Southeast by terrorizing many times. It is thought-provoking that a member of the press defends these terrorists.

We fulfill whatever the law commands. Of course, you don’t live in Turkey. These are the steps we take to ensure peace in this region. “It will continue like this from now on.”