Turkey in effort to make regional peace, stability permanent: Erdoğan

ANKARA

Turkey's Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) begun its semiannual work on Aug. 4 under PM Erdoğan’s leadership. AA Photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey will protect its stability and beef up its power at a moment when there are very important developments in the world and the region, in an effort to make peace and stability in the region permanent. Erdoğan’s statement came as the country’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) begun its semiannual work on Aug. 4 under Erdoğan’s leadership and with the participation of top military and civilian officials.

“The crucial moment we are living through is another indication of our accurate objective to make our army a powerful one with qualified man power, modern equipment and superior operational capability,” Erdoğan wrote in the “special book” at the Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president. Erdoğan, along with top civilian and military officials, laid a wreath on Atatürk’s mausoleum and stood in homage in respect to the founding president, on the occasion of the commencement of the three-day YAŞ meetings.

Erdoğan repeated his government’s objective to make Turkey one of the 10 most developed countries by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the republic, saying, “In this course, we are not neglecting our humane and conscientious responsibilities that were inherited to us from our ancient history while we are improving our national security at the highest level.” 

The YAŞ meetings are held twice a year, once in early August and the other in early December, where the council reviews the state of the military’s preparedness for war, its logistical needs and future organizational structure, as well as promotions for senior military officers and dismissals of military personnel. YAŞ’s decisions will be publicized after the approval of President Abdullah Gül on Aug. 6.