Those who tried to dominate Turkey over the last century have been pushed back by the Turkish people, said Turkey's president on Saturday.
"To those who tried to turn Turkey into their backyard since the Battle of Gallipoli, the War of Independence, and the July 15, 2016 defeated coup, we gave the necessary answer as a nation," Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the opening ceremony of the National Gardens in Başakşehir, Istanbul, referring to decisive historic military campaigns and a failed putsch that martyred 251 people.
"One of the commitments in our 100-day performance program was fulfilled today by opening these National Gardens, and the others will be completed one by one," Erdoğan added.
"We say that we will build the Istanbul Canal, they say 'We don't want it,' 'Don't build it". We will build it whether you want to or not," he said.
Next year Turkey plans to launch the construction of the Istanbul Canal, an artificial sea-level waterway, and complete it in 2023, according to Turkey's Transport And Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan.
The canal is meant to provide relief to shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, particularly oil tanker traffic passing through the Bosphorus.
The 45-kilometer (nearly 28-mile) canal, which will be built along Istanbul's Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor, is to boast a capacity of 160 vessels a day.
