Politics
Erdoğan hails ‘army of peace’ as he watches Efes 2026 exercise
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew into the western city of Izmir on Thursday for the Distinguished Observer Day of Efes 2026, an international exercise where the Turkish Armed Forces showcased its abilities and the country’s defense industry demonstrated its latest locally made products.
In a speech there, Erdoğan praised the Turkish army as “an army of peace which won’t harm anyone but enemies.” He noted that Türkiye was one of the actors of a new era where new alliances are being shaped.
The exercise, named after the ancient city of Ephesus located in present-day Izmir, began on April 20 in the Doğanbey region of the city’s Seferihisar district, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, which was once a hotbed of tensions between Türkiye and Greece. It brought together 50 nations, from fellow members of NATO to Libya and Syria, the latter of which participated in the first multinational exercise since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. It is the largest combined joint live-fire exercise of the country. Beyond it, it was an opportunity to display Türkiye’s local defense industry. The products of the booming industry, widely known across the world for its unmanned aerial vehicles, were on display in an exhibition ground next to the exercise venue. Autonomous drone swarms and carrier-launched unmanned combat vehicles were highlights of the exhibition, where officers of the countries joining the exercise admired Türkiye’s homegrown innovations.
At the center stage was Steel Dome, Türkiye’s multilayered air defense system. All elements of the system developed by Aselsan were prominently displayed at the exercise, overlooking the Aegean Sea on a thin stretch of the coast, next to a banner reading “Çelik Kubbe” (Turkish words for the system). The system brings together the long-range Siper platform alongside Hisar-A, Hisar-O and Sungur in a layered configuration designed to intercept threats ranging from cruise missiles to commercial-grade drones.
Donning a cap distributed to distinguished observers of the exercise, Erdoğan greeted the mixed audience of soldiers from around the world, which numbered around 1,300, and expressed his delight in joining them. “The Efes exercise instills confidence in our friends and disappoints those plotting against Türkiye. The exercise is being held in a land where Çaka Bey made it to the maritime history by establishing one of the most important shipyards,” Erdoğan reminded. He was referring to the legendary Seljuk commander who lived in the 11th century and ruled a vassal state of Seljuks based in Smyrna, where the modern-day Izmir is also located.
He stated that the Efes exercise, where high-tech, locally made defense industry products were utilized, was more than that, “with its planning, application, coordination of units and with the strategic mind behind it.”
“This is an example of deterrence and how maintaining peace requires good preparation, will and resolve. The Turkish army carries the memory of its nation and homeland as well as the memories and ideas of the region it is located in. The Turkish army is an army of peace, an army of calm. It is an army of stability. Throughout its history, the Turkish army never destroyed anywhere it set foot upon. On the contrary, it was repaired. Even under the most difficult circumstances, this army never hurt people except enemies, it never harmed any creature, trees or cities. It is a safety guarantee for its country and nation and guarantees peace and stability as well for the region, for the world.”
Erdoğan noted that the world was going through a sensitive period where security paradigms changed, the reputation of international law took a hit and a new security architecture was needed. “A new balance is being established, new alliances are being built, though a new global order is still absent. Our world evolves from a status quo designed by a handful of major powers to a multi-polar, multi-actor state. Türkiye is at the heart of this process. Its name comes up as one of the influential actors of the new era. In the face of pessimistic scenarios of the future, we are striving to make our country a key player in every field, particularly for the regional peace,” he said, adding that it was essential to keep the army strong and well-equipped to ensure peace and security in “a difficult region.”
“We want to boost our deterrence, strengthen our defense abilities and speed up our innovative moves in the defense industry and establish new partnerships with our friends on the basis of mutual benefit and respect. Through all these, we aim to get our country out of stormy waters and onto the coast of peace. This is what our army strives for,” he stressed.
“Türkiye will continue advocating peace and stability in the face of those investing in war and chaos. We will resolutely defend the joint values of humanity against the networks of genocide massacring children, women and the elderly, in Gaza, in Lebanon and elsewhere in our region. The history is full of examples of those who won after befriending the Turkish nation and examples of the consequences for those harboring a feud against Turks,” he added.
Israel is considering shutting down its consulate in Istanbul, one of its oldest diplomatic missions, following a shooting near the building in April, according to an Israeli source speaking to Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday.
Israel’s Embassy in Ankara will remain open, but still shorn of diplomatic personnel after their evacuation in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed at least 72,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, injured over 172,000 and caused massive destruction that affected 90% of civilian infrastructure.
Diplomats were likewise pulled from the Istanbul consulate, located in a business district of Türkiye’s largest city, with both institutions staffed with Turkish personnel since.
“The issue is under discussion; no decision has been made,” insisted the source, referring to plans to demolish the building housing the Istanbul consulate as part of earthquake preparation measures.
“Some argue these vacant premises, that belong to us, are costing us a lot of money,” the source said.
It comes after a shooting took place on April 7 near the building.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, while authorities blamed a “terrorist organization which exploits religion,” without giving further details.
Türkiye downgraded diplomatic representation with Israel following the outbreak of the Gaza war, recalling its ambassador and maintaining relations at the charge d’affaires level.
Since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has regularly spoken out against Israel’s response and against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he has compared to Hitler and labelled a perpetrator of “genocide.”
Relations between Türkiye and Israel have experienced repeated periods of tension and normalization over the decades since Ankara’s recognition of Israel in 1949.
The two countries re-established diplomatic links in 2016 after a six-year hiatus from May 2010, when Israeli forces raided a “Gaza Freedom Flotilla” in international waters and killed nine activists, eight of them Turkish citizens, after storming the Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara vessel.
The Israeli navy last Monday intercepted a new flotilla to deliver aid for Gaza, the third since Oct. 7, 2023, after setting sail from southern Türkiye last week.
Türkiye’s parliamentary commission investigating the causes of school attacks heard testimony from academics on psychological counseling, guidance services and radicalization, with experts warning that digital environments are increasingly fueling violent behavior among children.
Speaking before the commission, Prof. Hilmi Demir of TOBB University of Economics and Technology said recent school attacks in the provinces of Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa reflected patterns associated with online radicalization rather than isolated acts of violence.
Demir said some perpetrators displayed deep hostility toward society and left behind manifestos outlining ideological motivations, a phenomenon he described as increasingly visible in Türkiye.
He argued that digital platforms can expose minors to communities that normalize violence, cruelty and extremist narratives.
According to Demir, children in such online networks may reinforce one another’s behavior through competition, notoriety and imitation rather than direct coordination.
He said perpetrators often reveal intentions or discuss plans online before carrying out attacks, adding that recognizing warning signs and digital symbols requires specialized expertise.
Demir described the phenomenon as a form of organized radicalization expressed through individual acts and called for greater institutional capacity to monitor and understand emerging online threats.
Prof. Galip Yüksel of Gazi University’s Faculty of Education told lawmakers that young people who commit school attacks are often overlooked by peers and may seek recognition through antisocial behavior.
Yüksel said guidance and psychological counseling services should play a stronger role in schools, beginning in preschool and continuing through grade 12, with greater emphasis on social-emotional, academic and career development.
Commission Chair Yusuf Beyazıt said lawmakers visited Kahramanmaraş last week and would continue gathering testimony from public institutions, affected families, school administrators and teachers regarding incidents in two schools.
The commission later voted to conduct additional visits to Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa between June 12 and June 15.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting in the Swedish city of Helsingborg on May 21-22, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said on Wednesday.
The meeting is expected to focus on preparations for the NATO summit to be hosted by Türkiye in Ankara on July 7-8, as well as alliance unity, trans-Atlantic cooperation, strengthening defense industry production capacity, continued support for Ukraine and converting rising defense spending into military capabilities.
The ministers are also expected to discuss developments related to Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, including their implications for Euro-Atlantic security and the broader global security environment.
NATO’s southern flank policies and recent developments affecting Euro-Atlantic security, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war, are also expected to be on the agenda.
The meeting will begin on May 21 with an informal working dinner of the NATO-Ukraine Council attended by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
During the dinner, Fidan is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity while highlighting Ankara’s diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Ankara summit preparations
On May 22, the meeting will continue with a session attended only by the foreign ministers of NATO’s 32 member states.
Fidan is expected to brief allies on preparations for the Ankara summit during the meeting, which will be the last gathering of NATO foreign ministers before alliance leaders meet in July.
The Turkish foreign minister is also expected to outline Türkiye’s expectations for the summit and stress Ankara’s efforts to ensure the meeting demonstrates NATO unity and cohesion.
Fidan will provide information on Türkiye’s contributions to NATO and highlight the country’s efforts to transform defense spending into military capabilities, emphasizing that transatlantic defense industry cooperation within the alliance should be developed without restrictions.
He is also expected to underscore the importance of NATO’s “360-degree security approach” to counter threats from all directions, including deeper engagement with the alliance’s southern neighborhood and stronger counterterrorism efforts.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan remains defiant as ever as he challenges critics of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and, more importantly, what he called “a cause for great Türkiye and the nation.”
Erdoğan underlined on Wednesday that what he and fellow members of the party worked for was beyond politics and for a greater cause for advancing the prospects of the country. Addressing the party’s parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, the president also stressed he was merely a member of the movement.
“Erdoğan may go away tomorrow, but there will be thousands more Erdoğans,” he said amid the applause of fellow AK Party members.
The president’s speech was mostly a criticism of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the archrival of the AK Party, which has nonetheless failed to defeat it in elections for more than two decades. He also devoted a large portion of the speech to his personal struggles in politics, where he confronted betrayal, threats of death and attempts to curb the rise of the AK Party.
His speech began with praise for Turkish youth and how the AK Party has never discriminated among the youth. Erdoğan had attended a youth festival earlier in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, organized by his party, and met youngsters again on the occasion of the Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day on May 19. The CHP has claimed the AK Party tricked the youth into joining the event by offering free concerts.
“The opposition was apparently jealous of the crowd at that event,” Erdoğan said. “It also proved them wrong,” he said, referring to the opposition’s claims that the party was more popular among older people.
“We had 100,000 young people there,” he pointed out.
He noted that the AK Party embraced everyone regardless of their background. “Throughout my life in politics, which is now nearly 50 years, I walked this path with the youth. Any movement turning its back on the youth has no chance of success,” he stated.
“The AK Party is popular among the youth. We don’t do politics for the youth, we do it with the youth. We attended to the needs of the youth instead of lecturing them. We embraced the youth memorizing the Quran just as we embraced the youth recovering from addictions,” he stated.
The president then engaged in a long talk about the history of the AK Party as he recalled the anniversary of the May 14 general elections and the upcoming anniversary of the second round of the same vote that secured Erdoğan another victory as president.
“About three months later, we will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of our AK Party,” he said.
After a video on the history of the AK Party and Erdoğan was screened, the president opened up about his emotions.
“I would like to say what I have in my heart now, without a filter. When I set out on this path, I was conscious of how long it would take us, how deep the waters before us would be. We know it won’t be easy. We had memories of the unfortunate end of Menderes, Polatkan and Zorlu,” the president said, referring to late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and his two ministers who were hanged by a military junta after the May 27, 1960 coup. Menderes is among Erdoğan’s political idols.
“We were still feeling the threat of May 27, March 12, Sept. 12 and Feb. 28,” he listed the past coups and military ultimatums that derailed democracy in Türkiye.
“Some among us suffered torture, others were imprisoned for years. Our parties were shut down, and our political march was obstructed. We were ignored, alienated, and ostracized. We suffered in our own homeland. Yet, we never feared, never gave up. It is because this is a movement serving the interests of one or one group. This is not a movement seeking personal gains. This is not a movement without roots. It is the cause of great Türkiye, a great nation. This is the cause of ummah,” he stated.
He recalled how some circles have worked to disrupt the AK Party since it was founded, how the coup plots were hatched to overthrow its governments, and how the party faced a lawsuit for its closure in its fifth year.
“You, our nation, witnessed this, but there have also been attacks and challenges you have not seen. We could bow down, we could surrender, or comply with what they wanted. We could go about our business without saying anything about (the country). Like many governments before us, we could have stayed in our comfort zone and could have avoided taking risks. We didn’t do it and hit the road. We pursued a dream. We offered our lives for the cause of our nation. We did so because we were indebted to our ancestors, our ummah, the oppressed, the martyrs. We owe it to the self-sacrificing, brave people of the cause who lived before us and served this cause,” he said.
“This Erdoğan may go away one day, but there will be thousands more Erdoğans to serve this cause,” Erdoğan said.
This sentence prompted a journalist to ask Erdoğan after the parliamentary group meeting if this was “a farewell speech.”
“Was it?” Erdoğan asked in return cryptically.
Erdoğan is expected to run again in the 2028 elections, though some media outlets speculate that this may be his last electoral race. Some political pundits claim this is his last eligible tenure under the presidential system, but he may be nominated again if the election is rescheduled to an earlier date. The AK Party has signaled that a rescheduling of elections, possibly to autumn 2027, may be considered.
“The shadow of this great tree cannot shelter the corrupted and those engaged in sins,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, former leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said in a video published on his social media account on Wednesday.
“The great tree” was Türkiye’s oldest party mired with allegations of corruption and extramarital affairs of its high-profile members.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s message was a thinly veiled barb at the current administration which is accused of vote-buying to bring incumbent chair Özgür Özel to power as he succeeded Kılıçdaroğlu in a 2023 intra-party election.
This is the second such message by Kılıçdaroğlu in months, to call CHP “purge the corrupted.”
“This party is entrusted to us and we cannot stain it. The party knows when to purge itself (of corruption),” Kılıçdaroğlu stated.
“Dirty politics destroys morals and eventually, set its sights on this nation’s money. We have to keep the politics clean. This responsibility belongs to members of CHP. This is a great tree that did not bow down to anyone, a party which was closed down, went through the coups but did not submit. CHP does not stray from its path to govern, to instill hope again to people. Some people expect me to remain silent. Hear me now: I don’t negotiate the interests of my nation and party for anything. I defy your defamation and threats. I stand for truth,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.
Kılıçdaroğlu, who replaced Deniz Baykal after the former resigned from his post over a sex tape scandal, ran CHP for 13 years.
A loss to incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the May 2023 elections led to an intraparty election in November 2023. Kılıçdaroğlu’s unsuccessful run against Erdoğan despite the support from other parties, made him a pariah in his own party. Some CHP supporters even accused him of being a stooge of Erdoğan.
The accusations mounted further when Kılıçdaroğlu suggested himself as a trustee if the party was to be closed as the result of the vote-buying trial. “I devoted my life of 70 years to people’s fight for justice. I have nothing to leave behind than my fight for morals,” he said.
The first official reaction to Kılıçdaroğlu’s remarks was by Ali Mahir Başarır, acting group chair of CHP. “CHP is a clean party. That’s why we joined Mr. Kemal in his March for Justice,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday in Ankara, referring to Kılıçdaroğlu’s famous 2017 walk from Ankara to Istanbul to protest the arrest of a CHP lawmaker.
“If he still occupied his seat in CHP, he would march with us when our mayors were arrested,” Başarır said, referring to mayors accused of corruption.
“I believe he calls for cleaning the judiciary,” he added. “All our chairs, our staff are clean,” he countered Kılıçdaroğlu.
Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş continues to pledge a safer era for children in the digital world, informing reporters on Monday after a Cabinet meeting that a new regulation will be in force within six months to regulate social media use for children under the age of 15.
Göktaş said the world was adapting to similar practices and that Ankara had developed its own model. “We specifically examined the Australia (model) and made assessments to address any shortcomings in that model.”
Göktaş said a new law involving social media regulations will create safer digital spaces for children and promote controlled use. She said they aimed to prevent children’s exposure to content not suitable for their ages and development. The minister stated that the ministry has set up a working group for setting the rules in the implementation of the regulations on social media and is in coordination with all relevant public agencies.
“This working group will soon establish the rules, and the regulation will be in force within six months,” she said.
She noted that the efforts would not be limited to a single legal regulation but would include a comprehensive technical infrastructure and application mechanisms. She also pointed out that the new law assigned responsibilities to social network providers and that authorities would implement an age verification system, particularly through the e-Government portal. The system will be maintained in coordination with the Cybersecurity Directorate of the Turkish Presidency and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).
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