Türkiye rejects justification of attacks on Muslim values under freedom of thought: President

By Servet Gunerigok

NEW YORK (AA) - Türkiye will not accept the justification of attacks on the sacred values of 2 billion Muslims worldwide under the guise of freedom of thought, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

"To us, these actions are provocations that aim to incite people," President Erdogan said at a dinner event organized by the Turkish American National Steering Committee in New York.

He recalled that Türkiye pioneered the adoption of resolutions by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly which view violent actions targeting holy books as violating international law.

"We will continue our efforts towards this end," he added.

President Erdogan was referring to recent vicious attacks on the Quran, saying if hostility towards Islam is not prevented, perpetrators will become more reckless.

"As Türkiye, we are responding to this snowballing threat," he added.

President Erdogan cautioned that the attacks, which he said were primarily targeting Muslims today, may very well be directed at groups of diverse origins, languages, cultures and beliefs tomorrow.

Addressing members of the Turkish American community at the event, the Turkish leader also said there are interest groups that seek to poison Turkish-American relations.

"We will avert them by speaking the truth and representing Türkiye," he said.

Turning to US-Türkiye relations, the president noted that in the coming period, Türkiye will further advance its cooperation on the basis of shared interests.

"Differences of opinion are normal in interstate relations. But we know that there are more common grounds (with the US) and many windows of opportunity," said the president.