«The stance of the Greek leader (Kyriakos Mitsotakis) is already clear. Faced with this trend, they are putting in place intermediaries. In the meetings I had, almost all the presidents and prime ministers adopted an approach along the lines of ‘let's be mediators and bring you into contact. Won't you meet? At least until the end of this year, let's meet’.
And we told them: “Sorry, we don't have time for such a meeting right now.” Because it is obvious how they are currently arming the islands. On the other hand, they are constantly violating our airspace. Will the one who is now aligning himself with us provoke us by violating our airspace? Not to mention that he is also going to the islands, trying to send a message from there by building concrete shelters and digging trenches. He does not have good intentions. He would not take these steps if he had good intentions. After all this, we regret that we cannot and will not hold the Supreme Strategic Council meeting this year. And now he will have to wait for developments in Turkey. Let him wait and see how things develop in Turkey. Let him get his act together first, and when he does, then it won't be impossible for us to meet,‘ he said. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Turkish journalists, returning from Madrid.
We will scan the seas with the Abdulhamit drill – This year we will have results
The Turkish president announced new drilling operations in the Mediterranean with the new drill it has purchased, even announcing results by the end of the year or early next year.
«We govern 780,000 square kilometers of Turkey. There is a strong Turkey with a population of 85 million. We must carry this strong Turkey into the future and pass it on in a much stronger way. Our drill «Abdulhamid Khan,», is a step in that direction. Of course, this process makes some people uneasy. Imagine 20 years ago, we didn't have research vessels or drilling rigs. But now, with two research vessels and four drilling rigs, we will be constantly searching and scanning the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and trying to get some results. According to the reports we have at the moment, I hope that the results will start to become visible by the end of this year and the beginning of next year. This is because there are now signs in the reports that are being produced. I hope that once we discover oil, this gas will also begin to bring relief to our citizens. These ships will operate not only in our country but also abroad.
Of course, on the days when we were deciding on ‘Abdulhamit Khan’, the very negative approach of the lady (Aksener), who is the head of one of the most well-known political parties and called herself a historian, played a decisive role in determining this name. Because we do not allow such negative statements to be used about Sultan Abdulhamid Khan. He ruled and administered these territories for 33 years during the last period of the Ottoman Empire. You will rise up and answer to your ancestors. We will never allow this. That is why we named our ship, which drilled there, Abdulhamid Khan. And I hope the results of this will be the best response to a person who does not respect his ancestors, does not respect his nation, and has no respect for its future. That is why we took this step. With all these developments, we are preparing for 2023. We will fight this battle together with our nation, and as a 70-year-old member of it. NATO, we will continue to take much more specific and beneficial steps.».
Maria Zacharaki
