President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered journalists' questions on the plane after his visit to China.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:
"Dear members of the press, esteemed friends, I greet you all with my most heartfelt affection. As a guest of honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping, we attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit. Our participation in the summit is a sign of the importance we place on our relations with both the organization and the Asian countries with which we have deep-rooted ties. These figures are quite remarkable: the population of the 10 member countries of the organization has reached 3.8 billion, and their economic size is close to $30 trillion. We see that the organization has been undergoing a dynamic transformation since 1996. It is gaining an identity by prioritizing cooperation in economic and commercial fields. The organization has also adopted the principle of playing a role in solving global and regional problems. The principles listed under the title of 'Shanghai Spirit,' such as 'equality,' 'consultation,' 'mutual trust and benefit,' 'respect for differences,' and 'common development,' also overlap with the basic approaches of our 'Re-Asia Initiative,' which we announced in 2019. We are one of the countries that make the most effort to resolve conflicts in our region through peaceful means. In this regard, I find the organization's effort to increase contact with its dialogue partners, including our country, to be accurate."
On the question from journalists, "In your article published in the People's Daily, you used the phrase 'As we pass through strange times,' citing a Chinese proverb. What is Chinese President Xi Jinping's approach to the incredible lawlessness and gridlocked international community in our geography? Is Beijing, a locomotive of the East, aware of the role and potential of Türkiye, a NATO member and a country integrated with the West, in the goal of 'normalizing' the world?" President Erdoğan said the following:
"China is aware of Türkiye's regional importance and influence. For this reason, it sees Türkiye as an important actor. We are making an effort to develop our relations with China. We are evaluating cooperation opportunities in many areas, from economic relations to digital technologies, from energy to health.
We do not look at the world solely through an East-West axis. We are not a country with a mindset frozen by the chill of the Cold War. We constantly say that it is necessary to build new bridges between East and West, not create divisions. We defend our human-centered policies on every platform, and we will continue to do so. In a world where international systems are deadlocked, we believe that normalization can only be achieved through solutions based on fairness. We learn from the past, read the future correctly, and advance with this vision.
We believe in the importance of keeping dialogue channels open. We believe that a just and prosperous world can be built. Indeed, we have always insisted on this by saying, 'A fairer world is possible,' and we continue to do so. We are striving to continue on this path. We expect China, as an important part of the international community, to support our efforts."
