Faithful to the doctrine of the Blue Homeland, the president of Turkey appeared in another speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As reported by the SKAI correspondent in Istanbul, Manolis Kostidisthe Turkish leader spoke at the graduation ceremony of the Naval Academy of the National Defense University, asking young Turks not to think about sacrifices in order to “uplift Turkey and defend the ‘Blue Homeland'”.

“You will avoid no sacrifice to exalt her Turkey and to defend the Blue Homeland”, emphasized the Turkish president and continued:

“Everyone’s sea is as much as their vision. Some may say that our goals are dreams. Some may see it as a fairy tale Blue Homeland. Some may accuse Turkey of getting involved in adventures. Some might try to limit Turkey’s vision to 782,000 sq km. Perhaps there are even some who ask why Turkey is in Libya, Somalia, Qatar, Iraq, the Balkans, Asia and Africa. As in the past, so today and tomorrow, there may be some who are uncomfortable with Turkey’s vision and Turkey’s struggle. We will ignore any of this and look ahead. We will pay no attention to the delusions of those who see Turkish foreign policy from the windows of Western capitals instead of from its axis Ankara.

By strengthening our relations with the East, we will seek ways to advance our deep-rooted cooperation with the West. The fact that there are borders between us and the peoples with whom we lived together only a century ago does not mean that they will be removed from the geography of our hearts. We are a country with 78 martyr cemeteries in 34 different countries around the world.

We are a country that hosts the sons of Gaza, Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Komotini and of Baghdad in the cemetery of its martyrs Canakkale. Those who criticize our interest in our neighbor Iraq, Iran, Syria and Palestine, which has been under our rule for 4 centuries, are ignorant unless they have ulterior motives. Asking why Turkey is in Syria, Iraq and Qatar is, frankly, a great injustice to our history. Asking what Turkish soldiers are doing in Kosovo, Libya and Somalia is a complete intellectual failure.

I would like to make it clear here that Turkey cannot achieve its goal by turning its direction only to the West. If Turkey develops its relations with the East and the West at the same time, it can be a strong, respected and effective country. Any other way will not benefit Turkey, but will hurt it and take it out of the equation. Therefore, we do not have to choose between the European Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as some claim. Instead, we must develop our relationships with them and other organizations on the basis of kazan kazan (mutual benefit).

We will protect our rights in the Blue Homeland, which some call a fairy tale, to the end. We will not allow the rights of our Turkish Cypriot brothers to be violated. Whatever the interests of Turkey require in Aegeanthe Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, we will implement it resolutely regardless of what anyone says and without taking their permission.

I believe that with your participation our army becomes stronger than yesterday. You will take on a crucial role in supporting the Blue Homeland.”