Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Monday that he has overcome most obstacles with his US counterpart Joe Biden, and talked about local and regional files, including the enactment of a new Turkish constitution and the issue of Syrian refugees.
Erdogan welcomed the expansion of cooperation with the United States, stressing overcoming most obstacles in talks with his US counterpart Joe Biden and increasing contacts between the two sides in the future.
This came in a speech delivered by the Turkish President at the 13th annual Concordia Summit in New York City, which he is visiting to participate in the meetings of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The Turkish president noted that terrorism is a common threat to Turkey and the United States, and that his country will strengthen cooperation with Washington in the fight against terrorism.
Given the critical juncture the world is going through, he said, the revival of Turkish-American relations "is an opportunity."
"Every development in our region confirms how wrong it is to sort terrorists into bad and good. "You can't negotiate, befriend and partner with terrorists."
Other files
In terms of defense industries, Erdogan said that his country is an international player in the defense industries despite the restrictions, and that its defense exports in the first half of 2023 amounted to two billion and 400 million dollars.
On the domestic political front, the Turkish president said, "We can succeed in enacting a new constitution if we find positive interaction from the parties in parliament, this is a common issue and we have to solve it together."
On the "development path between Turkey and Iraq," he said that there is great determination among the Gulf countries in this regard, "and we are also determined" to implement the project.
Regarding the Syrian crisis, he stressed his encouragement for the safe and voluntary return of refugees, "and one million people will be added to the nearly 600,<> (voluntarily returned) with the completion of permanent housing" in northern Syria.