Türkiye working hard to end Russia-Ukraine war since first day: Erdogan

Türkiye has been working hard since the first day to end the Russia-Ukraine war and to stop the bloodshed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, adding Ankara has shown that a diplomatic solution was possible.

At a time when the energy and food crisis affected the whole world, Türkiye provided the shipment of more than 11 million tonnes of grain through the Black Sea and the Straits, Erdogan said in the 38th Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul.

Türkiye supports Black Sea grain export process by making shipments priority to the African continent, Erdogan added.

"We believe that the extension of the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement for 120 days as of 19 November will alleviate the suffering of our African brothers in particular."

Greece's unlawful practices

Erdogan highlighted unfair and unlawful practices that have been going on increasingly for years against the Muslim Turkish Minority in Greece.

Islamic world should no longer be a spectator to plight of our brothers, sisters who were persecuted in Greece, Erdogan said.

"The religious leaders of our brothers in Greece are not recognised, their foundations and property are seized, they are not allowed to teach their mother tongue, and their identities are denied."

Erdogan said he believes they will give the necessary support to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is an observer member of the Organization of Turkish States. 

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Türkiye determined to root out PKK 

The game of supporting the PKK and its affiliates under the guise of fighting against Daesh, which has been known to be a project product from the very first day, must now come to an end, Erdogan underlined.

Türkiye, which fought Daesh on the field and defeated this terror outfit, can not tolerate such arguments, he added.

"We are determined to root out this terrorist organisation, which poses a threat to the territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq, as well as our country," he added.

Erdogan said that although the names, claims, and geographies of terror groups are different, they target Muslims, and asked for strong support from COMCEC in Türkiye's struggle against "the enemies of Islam and humanity."

"The previous week, eight of our citizens, three of whom were children, were killed by the PKK terror group in Istiklal Street and then in our Karkamis district."

Despite all warnings of Türkiye, Erdogan added, "the blood of every innocent who died has been smeared on the hands and faces of those who try to legitimise terrorist organisations with letter games."

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