Türkiye will not tolerate provocations in Eastern Mediterranean: President Erdogan

Ankara is closely monitoring rising provocations and threats to the country's interests and those of the Turkish Cypriot people in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish leader says. Türkiye will never tolerate coercion, piracy, or banditry in its maritime “blue homeland,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. In a New Year message shared by the Presidency, Erdogan said on Wednesday that Ankara is closely monitoring rising provocations and threats to Türkiye’s interests and those of the Turkish Cypriot people in the Eastern Mediterranean. “As peace becomes more firmly established in Syria, voluntary returns have increased,” Erdogan said, noting that 600,000 Syrians have returned to their country over the past year. He stressed that Türkiye will support Syria’s new administration to ensure security and stability for all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or sect. Turning to Gaza, Erdogan said Türkiye will not remain silent until those responsible for the deaths of 71,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, are held accountable. The Turkish president added that Ankara is working intensively to ensure Israel stops attacks, speeds up humanitarian aid into Gaza, and allows reconstruction efforts to begin.