President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejected efforts in Israel to portray Türkiye as a new threat, linking the rhetoric to Israeli election politics and saying it did not contribute to regional peace.
“Türkiye has no hostility toward the Israeli people or any other community,” Erdoğan said in responses to Newsweek reported on Sept. 25.
He said Ankara’s objections concerned policies it considered contrary to international law and actions that deepened instability in the region.
Asked about Israel’s influence in Washington, Erdoğan said Türkiye’s relations with the United States were not defined through a third country.
He said he could raise concerns directly with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Türkiye does not base its foreign policy on scenarios of inevitable war,” he said when asked whether tensions with Israel could lead to military conflict.
Erdoğan said diplomacy should focus on preventing such a confrontation.
He accused Israel of undermining Syria’s sovereignty through its attacks and said a stable Syria would benefit the entire region, including Israel.
On Iran, Erdoğan said he had urged Trump to make full use of diplomacy and that Ankara’s channels with Tehran remained open.
Türkiye sought to prevent the conflict from spreading, protect trade routes and bring the parties back to negotiations, he said, citing the impact of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz on energy supplies and global trade.
Erdoğan said the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was not directed against Iran, Israel or any other country.
Under the pact, an armed attack on one signatory would be treated as an attack on all three, he said. The response would depend on the affected country’s request and needs, potentially involving intelligence, logistics, ammunition or further military support.
He cautioned against assuming an automatic military response to every incident in Iraq, Yemen or elsewhere, saying the relevant political and military bodies would determine how assistance was provided.
On the PKK’s disarmament, Erdoğan said the group’s decisions to lay down its weapons and dissolve must be fully implemented and verified by Turkish institutions.
He also called for all armed groups in Syria to be integrated into central state structures, with equal citizenship and greater security for all Syrians, including Kurds.
Turning to Russia and Ukraine, Erdoğan said Türkiye remained ready to help restart negotiations if the necessary political will emerged.
Ankara was in contact with both sides to keep civilian shipping, trade routes and energy infrastructure out of the war, he said, calling for a lasting mechanism to protect commercial navigation in the Black Sea.
