The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan he said on Friday that “Turkey’s only goal in foreign policy is to increase the number of its friends”.

Speaking at a pre-election rally of his party in Kerasunda, northern Turkey, ahead of the March 31 municipal elections, the Turkish president specifically said:Today, our every move is centered on Turkey. We think about the interests of our nation and state. We are trying to avoid new hostilities, at a time when the fire has flared up in our area. We have only one goal in foreign policy. This is to increase as much as possible the number of our friends.’

Tayyip Erdogan observed that the region where Turkey is located is experiencing very painful days. “The Russia-Ukraine war near the Black Sea is entering its second year. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and injured. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to migrate. […] There have been famines and poverty in many countries of the world because of the food crisis.”

He claimed that “Turkey is one of the countries that managed all the difficulties with the greatest success” to emphasize that “we did not compromise on employment during the pandemic period. We stood by our society. Thanks to our strong health infrastructure, we have not left any of our citizens helpless.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan also took aim at the Kemalist main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accusing it and its partners of trying to drag Turkey into war. “They tried in many ways to involve Turkey in the war on the side of some, inventing a term they called “axis shift” (s.s. of the country’s foreign policy). They have reached such a point in their warmongering behavior that they accused Russia with non-existent charges (of meddling) in the last elections of May 14-28,” he said, stressing that the government approached the issue from the perspective of the nation and not like the CHP and its Western-minded partners.