Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan responded to the criticism he received from the main opposition party, CHP, that he is sacrificing the "Blue Homeland" for the sake of rapprochement with Greece at a ceremony of handing over four new ships to the Turkish Navy.
The event in Yalova at which the Turkish president was the speaker was even called "Strength in the Blue Homeland".
The Turkish President defended his government's policies, and referring to the Barbaros-class frigate, he said that "whoever dominates the seas dominates the world, and with this understanding, we implement projects to ensure the Blue Homeland."
Describing the troubled international environment, he presented Turkey as a pillar of stability that protects peace "despite the traps they set for it".
And on this occasion, Erdoğan vehemently attacked Israel but also those who support it, and without naming the USA, he spoke of those who "send their aircraft carriers while turning a blind eye to the atrocities committed by Israel.
He even went so far as to describe Netanyahu as the "modern Führer" who is committing "genocide" against the Palestinian people.
The Turkish president announced that in the coming period, Turkey will focus on the development of new naval platforms, from uncrewed and autonomous naval vehicles to underwater platforms and aircraft carriers, while also referring to the Marlin uncrewed vessel, saying that "it will support Turkey's sovereignty in the seas, creating confidence for friends and fear for enemies."
Önümüzdeki dönemde İHA ve SİHA’ların yanı sıra insansız ve otonom deniz araçlarından denizaltı platformlarına ve uçak gemilerine kadar çeşitli muharip deniz platformlarının geliştirilmesine de ağırlık vereceğiz.
Hedefimiz, savunma sanayinde tam bağımsız bir Türkiye’dir. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/oVxXLD1sbW
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) January 19, 2024
The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), with a question in the National Assembly, had called on the government to answer whether exercises under the name "Blue Homeland" have now stopped and whether the "EU and US pressure and the recent negotiations with Greece, of which Turkey has not noted any benefit, influence this decision."
The opposition also asks to be informed if "the concept of the Blue Homeland, i.e. the protection of rights in the Sea as derived from International Law, is being abandoned".
Cumhuriyet, adopting the CHP's argument and putting pressure on the government, points out that since December 2020, Turkey's research and drilling rigs have not operated in areas considered controversial by the US and the EU, and that Turkey's reduced activity in the Aegean was reflected in the EU Progress Report.
The vice president of the CHP even refers to Admiral Özden Ornek, who first raised the issue of the so-called "disputed" islands in the Aegean, as the CHP has brought up the issue of the supposedly "occupied" islands from Greece and has submitted corresponding questions to the Turkish National Assembly.
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