Deputy Chairman of AK Party and Head of Relations with Turkish States, Kürşad Zorlu, stated that Türkiye can look to the future with confidence thanks to its strong state and strong leadership mechanism, and said, “Turkey has now become a sought-after, expected and trusted country. Therefore, this period of rise opens up new areas for us and offers new cooperation opportunities, not only in Türkiye’s immediate geography, but also in different geographies where Turkey has assumed responsibility in a historical context.” he said.
On the second and last day of his North Macedonia contacts, Zorlu met with the Speaker of the North Macedonian Parliament, Afrim Gashi, in the capital Skopje.
Zorlu, who held a meeting with the Chairman of the North Macedonia-Turkey Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Beycan İlyas, and Turkish MPs at the North Macedonia Assembly, then attended the round table meeting with the President of the Union of Macedonian Turkish Non-Governmental Organizations (MATÜSITEB), Tahsin İbrahim, and representatives of the association.
“We want peace, tranquility and prosperity to prevail in our region.”
In his statement to journalists, Zorlu said that with the latest developments in the world, Türkiye continues to assume a very important historical responsibility in the large geography extending from the Altai to the Mediterranean, from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China.
Stating that Türkiye fulfills this responsibility with an understanding focused on peace, tranquility and prosperity, Zorlu stated that it has developed its alliances through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Zorlu pointed out that one of the important elements of this historical responsibility is the geography of the heart approach, and emphasized that Türkiye’s influence capacity and mutual gains in this geography in line with the vision of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan point to a new era.
Stating that they have been in contact with the Speaker of the Parliament, non-governmental organizations, business world representatives and different circles in North Macedonia for 2 days, Zorlu stated that the Turkish community and compatriots in North Macedonia constitute an important intersection point between the two countries.
Zorlu stated that they also invited non-governmental organizations in North Macedonia to the Turkish World Civil Society Meeting to be held in Istanbul on June 23, and their representatives are expected to attend the event.
Emphasizing that they want the economic and logistics cooperation area extending from the Caspian to the Caucasus to Türkiye to be opened to the Balkans and further western geographies via Anatolia, Zorlu said, “We want to be able to reach more distant geographies by building a bridge to the Balkans, especially North Macedonia, and thus for peace, tranquility and prosperity to prevail in our entire region.” he said.
“Türkiye has now become a sought-after, expected and trusted country.”
Zorlu, who also attended the meeting titled “The Place of the Balkans in the Turkish World” organized by the Turkish Intellectuals Assembly within the scope of North Macedonia contacts, made a speech there.
Zorlu started his speech by conveying the greetings of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Stating that existing alliances in different geographies have been shaken recently, new areas of cooperation have emerged and humanity is facing new challenges, Zorlu said that an international climate has emerged where rules and values are shaped according to the interventions of powerful actors.
Zorlu said, “The statement ‘the world is bigger than 5’, which our President has been pointing out and underlining to the world for a long time, has become a clear summary of how such an order is shaped and what it means to us.” he said.
Zorlu stated that Türkiye, together with its diplomacy, stands against these conditions, these impositions and these manipulation efforts on a system of principled values.
Stating that Türkiye can look to the future with confidence thanks to its strong state and strong leadership mechanism, Zorlu said, “Turkey has now become a sought-after, expected and trusted country. Therefore, this period of rise opens up new areas for us and offers new cooperation opportunities, not only in Türkiye’s immediate geography, but also in different geographies where it has assumed responsibility in a historical context.” he said.
Zorlu emphasized that 5 Turkish deputies in the North Macedonian Parliament came together for the first time and that this was an important beginning for the unity and solidarity of the Turkish society.
Stating that the political representation of Turks in North Macedonia should be further strengthened in proportion to the population, Zorlu stated that Türkiye will continue to support this issue.
Zorlu pointed out the importance of using Turkish as a common language of communication between different communities in North Macedonia and noted that keeping the Turkish language and culture alive is one of Türkiye’s greatest sensitivities.
Zorlu was accompanied during the meetings by Türkiye’s Ambassador to Skopje Fatih Ulusoy, Chairman of the Turkey-North Macedonia Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group and AK Party Bursa Deputy Ahmet Kılıç, AK Party Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) members Ahmet Bilal Kıymaz and Mehmet Ali Kurt, AK Party Deputy Chairman of Relations with Turkish States Temel Akyürek.
