Erdogan: End of Gulf boycott of Qatar beneficial for region

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the breakthrough between Qatar and the Saudi-led alliance earlier this week, which restored ties after years of blockade. 

Speaking following a Friday prayer in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul, Erdogan said lifting of a travel and trade embargo between Qatar and other Gulf nations is beneficial for regional cooperation.

He added, "The lifting of this embargo has been very beneficial and good, especially for the Gulf area. It was not good for the Gulf that there had been hostilities for decades, among people with kinship ties In my opinion, it's a very accurate and crucial step for the Gulf. We also have a very important position in Gulf cooperation. We hope new ties will make Gulf cooperation even stronger."

READ MORE: Will Riyadh-Doha reconciliation change the course of the Libyan conflict?

Capitol Hill riots

Extending his condolences to the families of those killed in Washington, DC during the riots in Capitol Hill, Turkey's president described the deadly incidents as a "shock" for humanity.

"This process in the US, which was described as the so-called 'cradle of democracy,' really shocked all of humanity," Erdogan said.

Erdogan said he hopes the transition of the presidency to Joe Biden on January 20 occurs as calmly as outgoing President Donald Trump has said in his statement.

The Turkish president also wished recovery to the injured.

On Wednesday, supporters of Trump protesting Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s presidential win clashed with police, eventually breaching the Capitol Building and making their way to the Senate floor.

At least five people died after protesters stormed into the building, including one woman shot by Capitol Police. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have unanimously condemned the assault on the Capitol by the people and called the riots a "coup," "despicable act of terrorism" and "national embarrassment" in separate statements.

Trump, his political allies and millions of Republican citizens have for months claimed that the November 3 election was rigged.

READ MORE: Trump begrudgingly concedes to Biden, condemns Capitol riot

Covid-19 vaccine

Recalling Turkey's purchase of 3 million Chinese SinoVac vaccines, Erdogan said the country's future purchase will reach up to 50 million doses.

Touching on anti-vaccination campaigns, he said the nation will not credit them.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is not an ordinary case, it is almost the plague of the century," Erdogan said, stressing that he will do whatever he can as the head of the state.

The first batch of 3 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine ordered from China’s SinoVac Biotech arrived in Turkey on December 30.

As of Thursday, Turkey had registered a total of 22,264 deaths due to the coronavirus while over 2.17 million people have recovered from the disease. There are currently more than 2.29 million confirmed cases in the country.

Turkey's national space policy

Speaking at another event, at the special session of Satellite Technologies Week via video conference, Erdogan said that with the newly launched Turksat 5A satellite, Turkey's active satellites in space will rise to seven, adding that the country has secured its orbital rights for 30 years.

"Our goal is to settle Turksat 6A, the first communication satellite produced by Turkey, in to orbit in 2022," he noted.

He went on to say that Turkey is planning to launch its indigenous high-resolution observation satellite IMECE to space next year.

"So we have raised the number of active satellites in space to seven," he said, referring to the newly launched Turksat 5A satellite.

Take off from Florida

Turkey will also announce its 2021-2030 National Space Program soon, Erdogan added.

"With the activation of Turksat 5A, designed for intelligence and communication purposes, we are raising the number of our active communication satellites to four," he noted.

Erdogan added that Turksat 5A satellite covers an area including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa, Central Africa, Mediterranean, Aegean, and the Black Sea.

Turksat 5A satellite was launched on Friday morning using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida.

READ MORE: Turkey launches fifth-generation satellite Turksat 5A