Turkish President Erdogan urges respect for Türkiye-Libya 'joint will' in Eastern Mediterranean
- Türkiye seeks only to protect its maritime jurisdiction rights, interests, says Recep Tayyip Erdogan
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- Türkiye seeks only to protect its maritime jurisdiction rights, interests, says Recep Tayyip Erdogan
By Seyit Kurt and Fatma Zehra Solmaz
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday called on those seeking to exclude Türkiye from the Eastern Mediterranean to respect the "joint will" of his country and Libya.
"I would like to remind once again those who seek to exclude Türkiye from the Eastern Mediterranean that we expect them to respect the joint will of our country and Libya," Erdogan said following a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
Erdogan said Ankara is not seeking to outmaneuver anyone in the Eastern Mediterranean, but is focused on protecting its maritime jurisdiction rights and interests.
"We are not, so to speak, trying to score against anyone in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are only concerned with protecting our rights and interests regarding maritime jurisdiction areas," he said.
His remarks came days after Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives approved the 2019 maritime jurisdiction agreement between Türkiye and Libya.
Erdogan also stressed Ankara's desire to see Libya overcome its internal divisions.
"As Türkiye, we no longer want to see division or discord in Libya or any other Muslim country. God willing, we will see this aspiration become a reality in Libya," he said.
Erdogan also said global developments showed that preserving an environment of peace and stability at home would become increasingly important for Türkiye in the period ahead.
"Our sole compass in both politics and foreign policy is Türkiye's interests," Erdogan said.
"We will never hesitate to do what is right and beneficial for Türkiye and the Turkish nation, even if it comes at a cost," he added.
Turning to the upcoming 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States, Erdogan stressed the importance of unity among Turkic countries.
"As the Turkic world, I believe we will once again stand together in unity and solidarity against those who seek to undermine our unshakable brotherhood," he said.
Addressing conflicts in the wider region, he said Türkiye was working to help end violence and bloodshed.
"As Türkiye, we are sincerely striving, with all the means at our disposal, to extinguish this fire, alleviate suffering, and stop the bloodshed, opposing those who fuel the fire in our region with expansionist ambitions," he said.
Seyit Şamil Kurt,Fatma Zehra Solmaz