Politics
Erdoğan urges joint action to end Gaza tragedy, restore Mideast peace
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday urged NATO allies and the international community to take responsibility for ending Israeli violations and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and restoring peace in the Middle East, warning that war and destruction offer no path forward for the region.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague, Erdoğan said diplomacy remains the only viable solution to the region’s enduring conflicts.
“The permanent resolution of problems with Iran is only possible through diplomacy and negotiation,” Erdoğan said. “Our region is full of examples showing that war and destruction lead nowhere.”
Condemning Israel’s massacres and blockade in Gaza, Erdoğan stressed the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there.
“Due to Israel’s attacks, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has turned into a humanitarian disaster. No person with a conscience can remain silent in the face of such brutality,” he said.
The Turkish president said that 80% of Gaza has been destroyed and 95% of the health care infrastructure has been demolished, with more than 2 million Gazans struggling to survive under very difficult conditions amid the rubble, with bombs constantly falling down on them.
“The Israeli government is even blocking the entry of the most basic necessities into Gaza. Due to Israel’s blockades and attacks, the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza has turned into a humanitarian disaster. No conscientious person can remain silent in the face of such savagery. People stay silent when babies are sleeping, but not when babies are being killed,” he said.
“Like all countries in the region, Israel’s security depends on the stability, peace, and prosperity of its neighbors,” he said.
The Turkish president also called for shared responsibility among global powers to restore peace in the region.
“I believe that in order to establish peace in the Middle East, everyone, including our allies, must step up and take responsibility,” Erdoğan said.
Highlighting Türkiye’s contributions to NATO defense cooperation, Erdoğan noted that Ankara has taken the lead in pushing for the removal of barriers to defense industry trade among alliance members.
“As Türkiye, we led efforts to include in alliance documents the understanding that barriers to defense industry trade among NATO allies should be lifted,” he said.
Touching upon his diplomatic contacts during the NATO summit, including his meeting with Trump, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K.’s Prime Minister Keir Stammer, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Romanian President Nicusor Don and French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdoğan said the meetings addressed the strengthening of bilateral ties with allies and the summit agenda, and Türkiye’s plan to host next year’s NATO summit is confirmed.
On Russia’s army leaving Azerbaijan, Erdoğan confirmed tha Russian forces had left and are no longer there.
He said he had recently visited Karabakh, and that Baku is working to make the region livable, investing heavily in infrastructure.
On whether NATO would defend Türkiye if a conflict arose between Türkiye and Israel, Erdoğan said there is currently no attack on Türkiye, which is “a peace-loving” country focused on maintaining regional peace.
Trump ‘sincere’ in push to deliver F-35s to Türkiye
Meanwhile, Erdoğan welcomed recent progress in discussions with the United States over the long-disputed delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, saying that he discussed the issue directly with U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting late Tuesday.
“We made payments of $1.3 to $1.4 billion for F-35s, and we saw that Mr. Trump was well-intentioned about delivering them,” Erdoğan said.
The president also emphasized that increased defense spending by NATO allies was a key outcome of the summit, but warned that budget increases alone would not ensure the alliance’s strength.
“Türkiye is the NATO ally most affected by terrorism and regional crises,” Erdoğan said. “We’ve made a great breakthrough in our defense industry and are working to enhance deterrence while staying clear of unnecessary conflict.”
He added that many allies were now aligning with Türkiye in taking on greater responsibility against shared threats, calling for “mutual understanding and sincere cooperation” to improve NATO’s effectiveness.
“It is not possible to strengthen the alliance solely by increasing defense spending,” he said.
Erdoğan attended the two-day NATO summit in the Netherlands alongside other heads of state, where leaders are discussing regional threats, alliance cohesion, and strategies to bolster NATO’s deterrence posture.
Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu voiced concern over Israel’s growing presence in the Greek Cypriot-administered south, saying expanding military ties could undermine security on the divided island.
Ertuğruloğlu made the remarks during a meeting with Turkish journalists in Washington, D.C., as part of his U.S. visit following the U.N. General Assembly meetings.
Responding to a question about the impact of the Greek Cypriot administration’s growing military ties with Israel and other countries on security on the island, Ertuğruloğlu said Turkish Cypriot authorities were concerned about Israel’s increasing involvement.
“We are, of course, not pleased with Israel becoming so influential in southern Cyprus,” he stated, “This is a relationship that puts the island’s security at risk.”
He also criticized the Greek Cypriot administration’s military cooperation with France, U.S. arms sales and military training, as well as British policies involving its bases on the island.
Ertuğruloğlu said such developments risked disrupting stability but argued that Türkiye had taken necessary measures to preserve the military balance.
He emphasized that Turkish Cypriots remained confident about their security despite regional tensions, citing the presence of Turkish forces on the island and Türkiye’s role as a guarantor.
Two-state position unchanged
Ertuğruloğlu further noted the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would maintain its current foreign policy position on the future of the Cyprus issue, reiterating its call for two sovereign, equal states with equal international status.
“The point we have reached in foreign policy is final: two sovereign, equal states with equal international status,” he said. “There is no option of establishing a new partnership with the Greek Cypriots. That is over.”
He underlined that Turkish Cypriots had previously attempted to establish a partnership with Greek Cypriots, referring to the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 and the intercommunal violence that began in 1963.
Ertuğruloğlu argued that the Greek Cypriot side’s approach to the Cyprus dispute had not changed and said the international community’s policies encouraged it.
He also pointed to military cooperation between the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel, as well as the expected participation of U.S., British and French military personnel in anniversary ceremonies in southern Cyprus.
Ertuğruloğlu said future relations on the island could instead be based on good, neighborly ties between the two states.
“There can now be neighborly relations on the island,” he said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay, who resigned from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in June, at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Wednesday.
“We informed the president about important issues on Izmir’s agenda and our projects for the city’s future,” Tugay noted in a written statement, thanking Erdoğan for the meeting and his interest in Izmir.
The meeting comes amid speculation over Tugay’s political future following his departure from the CHP.
Tugay resigned from the party on June 18 amid turmoil following a court ruling concerning the CHP leadership and said he would continue serving as Izmir mayor as an independent.
His departure left Türkiye’s third-largest city with a mayor who was not a CHP member for the first time in more than two decades.
Since his resignation, Turkish media reports have speculated that Tugay could join the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
AK Party Izmir lawmaker Mehmet Kasapoğlu, responding to the speculation, said the party would neither attempt to force political developments nor “close the door” on trends emerging naturally in politics.
Erdoğan’s meeting with Tugay follows a Sept. 9 meeting with Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who later announced his resignation from the CHP and said he would continue his political career as an independent.
Morning raids on Thursday netted Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer, along with the mayors of the Yenişehir and Mezitli districts in the province.
Authorities announced that a total of 59 suspects were detained in an investigation into corruption in the municipalities.
Seçer, Yenişehir Mayor Abdullah Özyiğit and Mezitli Mayor Ahmet Serkan Tuncer are all members of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose new chair, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has pledged to cleanse the party of corruption after taking office last May.
The investigation into Mersin municipality, a city of about 2 million people, found that violations of regulations in 13 public tenders and 63 acquisitions organized by the municipality resulted in a public loss of more than TL 330 million ($6.73 million). Suspects linked to Mezitli Municipality caused a public loss of more than TL 1.1 billion, investigators discovered, again through rigged public tenders and acquisitions, while the figure was TL 105 million at Yenişehir Municipality.
A similar scheme was discovered in most municipalities that faced investigations in the past two years, and almost all of them were run by CHP mayors. In other investigations, prosecutors have accused defendants, including mayors and senior municipal bureaucrats, of running criminal organizations that thrived on bribes in exchange for zoning and building permits, awarding lucrative tenders to businesspeople in exchange for advance payments in violation of tender laws and holding companies hostage over payments for their services, releasing the payments only after the companies paid additional money to the municipalities.
Authorities said Tuncer also faced a separate investigation over allegations that he ordered armed attacks on people with whom he was involved in a feud, as well as on a local office of the New Party (YP), which was founded last July by former CHP chair Özgür Özel, and the offices of a media company.
The CHP seeks to restore its image, tarnished by the arrest of mayors on corruption charges. As promised by Kılıçdaroğlu, the “cleansing process” will now involve preemptive steps to prevent future cases, according to a recent report by Sabah newspaper. Starting next year, the party will introduce a “performance monitoring system” for its mayors, which will serve as a benchmark to assess whether they comply with the CHP’s predetermined criteria.
With this move, the mayors’ past and future performance will come under scrutiny. They will be assessed based on how many criteria they have met, and at the end of the process, they will be given a “report card.”
The mayors will undergo reviews in a number of areas, including project management, financial management, human resources management and public relations. The flow of funds in municipalities, investments and the allocation of tenders are also expected to be examined comprehensively.
Mayors whose activities are deemed suspicious, who fail to meet the established criteria or are found to have performed poorly will not be nominated in the next election. Throughout the process, the main focus will be on clean politics and financial transparency.
All of the mayors who remain under the CHP umbrella are individuals who were nominated in the last local elections during Özgür Özel’s tenure as party chairperson. The party leadership also plans to hold a meeting of mayors shortly to strengthen central authority and discuss steps to be taken for the coming year.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler attended the Distinguished Observer Day of the Unity of Strength-2026 military exercise in Azerbaijan on Thursday, alongside senior commanders from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
The exercise, hosted by Azerbaijan with the participation of Türkiye and Uzbekistan, is aimed at improving coordination and joint operational capabilities among the three countries’ armed forces.
Güler visited the exercise area in Shusha with Chief of General Staff Gen. Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Navy Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Land Forces Commander Gen. Metin Tokel and Air Force Commander Gen. Rafet Dalkıran.
Güler and Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov also inspected weapons, ammunition and military technologies displayed and used during the exercise.
Türkiye’s Defense Ministry said Turkish and Azerbaijani air forces struck simulated ground targets on their first attempts during the drills. The ministry also said troops conducted urban warfare training as part of the exercise.
According to the ministry, participating units trained under challenging scenarios designed to improve coordination, speed and their ability to conduct joint operations.
More than 3,500 military personnel from Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have taken part in the joint exercises, which began Sept. 21, according to Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry, noting the drills marked the first military exercise of this scale to include territories retaken by Azerbaijan.
More than 130 unmanned aerial vehicles, 70 armored vehicles, 90 artillery systems and 20 aircraft are participating in the exercise, along with more than 30 electronic warfare, reconnaissance and surveillance systems. The drills also involve more than 15 air defense systems, eight sets of engineering equipment and more than 20 naval vessels, the ministry said.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that work was underway on the possible transfer of Türkiye’s Russian-made S-400 air defense systems to a third country, a move that could help address a longstanding dispute between Ankara and Washington over Türkiye’s participation in the F-35 fighter jet program.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue was “on the agenda” and that discussions were taking place.
“Relevant work is being done, and appropriate contacts are taking place,” Peskov noted when asked about the possibility of transferring the systems.
His comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow could consider allowing the S-400 systems to be transferred to another country.
Lavrov said any recipient would need to act responsibly and maintain friendly relations with Russia, adding that Moscow would consider such a transfer if a request were made.
Türkiye agreed to purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2017 and acquired the system in 2019.
The acquisition drew criticism from the United States and other NATO allies, which argued that operating the Russian system posed risks to NATO defense systems and the F-35 program.
Washington subsequently removed Türkiye from the F-35 program and imposed sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
Ankara has long sought to resolve the dispute and return to the F-35 program. Yet, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering allowing Türkiye to rejoin the F-35 program at the NATO summit in Ankara in July.
Speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex after arriving in Ankara for the summit, Trump said the time had come to remove sanctions that have strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“We’re going to lift the sanctions,” Trump said. “We don’t want to sanction our friends. I don’t want to choke my friend with sanctions.”
Calling Türkiye a militarily powerful country under Erdoğan’s leadership, Trump remarked that relations between Washington and Ankara were at their strongest point in years.
Yemen is seeking to expand cooperation with Türkiye to rebuild state institutions and improve essential public services as the war-torn country grapples with persistent security and humanitarian challenges, Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba said.
Al-Zouba made the remarks during a meeting with Türkiye’s Ambassador to Riyadh, Emrullah Işler, Yemen’s official SABA news agency reported.
The two officials discussed recent developments in Yemen and the wider region, as well as ways to strengthen bilateral relations and broaden cooperation.
Al-Zouba praised Türkiye’s support for Yemen and its internationally recognized government, including Ankara’s backing for the Presidential Leadership Council.
She stressed the importance of strengthening political and diplomatic coordination between Türkiye and Yemen amid regional and international developments, saying closer ties could support efforts to rebuild state institutions and bolster regional security and stability.
The Yemeni government is particularly interested in expanding cooperation with Türkiye in strengthening state institutions and improving basic services to help ease hardships facing the population, al-Zouba said.
The foreign minister also raised the impact of Houthi attacks on security in Yemen and the wider region, including threats to international trade and maritime traffic in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
She warned that indiscriminate missile launches by the Houthis posed growing risks to civil aviation and international air travel, saying weapons that fail to distinguish between civilian and military targets endanger passenger aircraft and civilian lives.
Işler, for his part, reiterated Türkiye’s support for the Yemeni government and for Yemen’s security, unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He also reaffirmed Ankara’s commitment to expanding bilateral cooperation and supporting the Yemeni government’s efforts to rebuild state institutions and restore security and stability.
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