President Erdoğan performs Friday prayer in Istanbul
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan answered reporters’ questions after performing the Friday prayer at Hz. Ali Mosque in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul.
In answer to a question about his visit to Iraq scheduled for Monday, President Erdoğan stated that this was a previously postponed visit and that now that the elections in Türkiye are over, the visit will hopefully be carried out. Noting that he will have talks with the President and Prime Minister of Iraq in Baghdad, President Erdoğan said: “Afterwards, we will visit Erbil. In Erbil, we will have the opportunity to discuss problems relating to Northern Iraq as well as the central government.”
Answering a question on the visit President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany will pay to Türkiye on Wednesday, President Erdoğan stated: “We have a long-standing friendship with Steinmeier. We will have the opportunity to review our relations. We will exchange views on a wide range of issues including political, military, economic and commercial matters. During Mr. President’s talks here, we will discuss the ways to further strengthen the relations between Türkiye and Germany.”
In response to a question about the Israel-Iran tensions, President Erdoğan said: “Israel says different things. Likewise, Iran makes different statements. In other words, there is no ownership on what happened and there is indeed no reasonable explanation concerning the issue. Regarding Iran’s statements, you cannot say ‘this is really telling the truth.’ As regards Israel’s, you cannot say it is telling the truth at all. In the meantime, they make the U.S. step in. The U.S. does not make a clear statement as to whether it was aware or not. And we saw in the most recent statements at the United Nations Security Council that while everyone stood by Palestine, the U.S., unfortunately, demonstrated its stance by siding with Israel. We already did not expect a different outcome.”
Asked about Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ expected visit to Türkiye on May 13, President Erdoğan said: “Mr. Mitsotakis’ visit can be regarded as a sort of return visit, and this visit is a significant milestone in bilateral relations. We will have the opportunity to discuss how we can take the Türkiye-Greece relations to a much better level.”
