Erdoğan urges end to terrorism in Eid statement

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his government's commitment to a "terror-free Türkiye" during an Eid al-Fitr address.

Speaking outside a mosque in Istanbul after Eid prayers on March 30, Erdoğan urged PKK and its Syrian affiliate, YPG, to lay down arms without delay, warning that Ankara did not have “unlimited patience” on the issue.

"Our state has done its part by ensuring that the call is made. Now it is the organization's turn to comply with the call without fail," he said.

"Our global, regional and internal dynamics provide us with a more suitable ground than ever for such a process to be concluded successfully."

His remarks followed a call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on Feb. 27 for the dissolution of the terror group.

The message by Öcalan, serving a life sentence on the prison island of İmralı off Istanbul, was read by the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) during a televised event.

The DEM Party's three subsequent visits to Öcalan over the course of two months were the first since members of the pro-Kurdish party’s predecessor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), met with him in April 2015.

PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. YPG has argued that the call does not apply to its forces, while Ankara insists it does.

A day before his Eid statement, Erdoğan spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.

"Drawing attention to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to the re-escalation in Israel’s attacks, President Erdoğan stressed that Palestinians can overcome this process only by acting in unity," Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.

Erdoğan also held a phone call with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, discussing bilateral ties and regional developments, including the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

He assured the Qatari leader that Türkiye would continue efforts to stop the bloodshed and alleviate suffering.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, discussed bilateral ties between the two nations, as well as global and regional issues over a phone call.

The Turkish president underlined the importance of Türkiye and Egypt acting in coordination on issues concerning the region in the phone call, his office said in a statement.

Erdoğan also also extended his Eid greetings to Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev and Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar in seperate phone calls.

In the meantime, the traditional Eid visits between political parties will take place on March 31.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel spent the first day of Eid in the northern city of Trabzon, the hometown of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

On the second day, he is set to visit Silivri Prison, where İmamoğlu and others are detained as part of an ongoing investigation.