“It is not an English magazine that defines the future of Turkey, but our people”

AA / Istanbul / Tuncay Çakmak

The President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, strongly condemned the recent cover of the English magazine “The Economist”, recalling that the fate of Turkey will not be defined by this magazine, but by the will of the Turkish people.

The Turkish head of state answered questions from journalists after performing Friday’s Friday prayers at a mosque in Istanbul.

He first turned to the possibility of bringing the date of the general election, normally scheduled for June 2023, within a few weeks.

He took the occasion to criticize the ignorance of the opposition parties for not even knowing who has the authority to define the election calendar.

“The powers of the President of the Republic are clearly defined. If the President announces the holding of elections by an order, they shall be held after 60 days. For example, if he announced it on March 10, the elections would have to be held on the first Sunday after 60 days,” he recalled, referring to the electoral law and the functioning of the Turkish High Committee elections.

Therefore, in this case, the date on which the opposition started talking about holding elections on May 14 is a good thing,” he said.

Regarding the latest cover of the English magazine “The Economist”, the Turkish president condemned a new attempt to influence the future of his country.

“The fate of Turkey will be determined by an English journal? The will of my people will decide that,” he said.

The British magazine, in this week’s issue, headlined its cover “Turkey’s Looming Dictatorship.”

The head of state was also questioned about Greece’s policy in the Aegean Sea.

Erdogan recalled that international agreements grant demilitarized status to the Greek islands. But Athens did not respect this position.

He once again strongly condemned Greece’s “actions” against the Treaty of Lausanne and others by militarizing islands in the Aegean Sea.

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