ISTANBUL
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said the country is entering a new era in which it must pick up the pace and become more agile and proactive.
“At the same time, as was the case last night, we are taking the necessary preventive measures against any threats that violate our airspace,” Erdogan said at an iftar dinner in Istanbul, emphasizing that “keeping our country away from this fire pit is our top priority.”
His remarks followed a ballistic munition launched from Iran that entered Turkish airspace and was “neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
He further urged citizens to exercise caution amid sectarian and ethnic tensions being stirred up amid attacks on Iran.
The president said that Türkiye proceeds with "great caution in the face of plots, traps, provocations aimed at dragging our country into war."
“As long as we stand firmly united, we can break the unwelcome hands reaching out to our independence and future,” he said.
Addressing Israel’s acts of genocide, Erdogan said some countries turned a blind eye to oppression and genocide, while others backed genocidal actors such as Israel.
“Apart from a handful of countries, institutions, and organizations with conscience and courage, virtually no one has spoken out against these atrocities in our region or strived to stop them,” he said.
"In a world suffering from a moral eclipse, we, as Türkiye, are all together striving to be the conscience of humanity," the president said.
“Suffering of orphaned Gazan and Syrian children drew less attention than a lone penguin, due to the virtual world’s fake conscience,” he added.
The president said that Ankara will continue to stand by the oppressed and will not cower in the face of oppression.