Turkish President releases Christmas message

ANKARA

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Christmas holiday of all Turkish Christians and Christian communities all over the World on Dec. 24.

“I congratulate first our Christian citizens and then all Christian world’s Christmas holiday, hoping that their Noel celebrations that they observe from different sects, tradition and churches would contribute to the development of solidarity and help environment,” said Erdoğan.

Releasing a statement on Presidency’s website, Erdoğan said “peace environment that prevails for hundreds of years in Anatolia is a fruit of old tradition of ours that regards differences as richness, that takes mutual respect and love as a principle and that does not make a discrimination based on religion, language and race.”

He added that as members of this old tradition, “we continue to open arms to the oppressed” without making any discrimination.