Already hosting 4 million refugees, Turkey is facing a new refugee influx of 50,000 Syrians, the nation’s president said on Dec. 19.
“Turkey already hosts 4 million [refugees], now another 50,000 more are heading to our land from Idlib, [Syria],” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
12,000 people flee Idlib amid regime, Russian attacks
Turkish president’s remarks came during a round table meeting on the priority of development and challenges with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as part of the Kuala Lumpur summit of Muslim world leaders.
Hundreds of government officials, business people, representatives of civil societies and experts from different sectors across the Muslim world followed the meeting and asked questions to the leaders.
Answering a question on terrorism, Erdoğan said: “They say ‘we need to fight terrorism.’ How will we fight terrorists? We cannot fight terrorism just using words, we need to take actions.”
“When we say ‘we need to build a safe zone,’ no one gives any support, but when it comes to weapons, the gun comes,” Erdoğan added.
‘Fate of the world’s Muslims no longer in the hands of five countries’
The fate of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims is no longer in the hands of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Erdoğan said on Dec. 18, during the opening ceremony of the summit.
Erdoğan reiterated that the world is bigger than five, referring to the five permanent U.N. Security Council members, whose veto power could prove catastrophic for smaller nations.
“The world is bigger than five” is a famous slogan repeatedly used by Erdoğan to criticize the permanent council members — China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.
Erdoğan also said that Turkey did not bow to pressure to silence it, including a coup attempt, economic terror and slander.
“As they try to silence Turkey, we insist on calling attention to Palestine, Gaza, the Rohingya, Libya, Somalia, and Syria,” he stressed.
At the opening ceremony, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as well as the host, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, delivered speeches.
Hundreds of government officials, businessmen, representatives of civil societies and experts from different sectors across the Muslim world are taking part in the summit.
