President Erdoğan: We will complete this year the highway project which will shorten the drive between İstanbul and İzmir from 8 hours to 3.5 hours
President and Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan along with Chairman Devlet Bahçeli of the Nationalist Movement Party attended a joint campaign rally of the People’s Alliance in the province of İzmir in the run-up to the local elections scheduled for March 31, 2019.
“WE HAVE INVESTED TL67 BILLION IN İZMIR IN THE LAST 17 YEARS”
Delivering a speech at the rally, President Erdoğan said that they have invested TL67 billion in İzmir in the last 17 years. Noting that they built 9 687 classrooms, 3 universities, 6 330-bed dormitories, youth centers, sports halls, an olympic pool, 109 medical facilities, 18 000 residential units, 28 dams and ponds, 3 organized industrial zones, 4 technoparks, 82 R&D centers, 28 design centers.
“425-kilometers-long divided roads had been built in İzmir in 79 years. We have increased that figure up to 828 kilometers. We will complete this year the highway project which will shorten the drive between İstanbul and İzmir from 8 hours to 3.5 hours,” President Erdoğan said.
TERRORIST ATTACK IN NEW ZEALAND
Regarding the terrorist attack in New Zealand, President Erdoğan said: “A killer, on the other end of the world, murdered Muslims who had convened to perform the Friday prayer. And he drew on the weapon with which he massacred those people symbols which directly targeted our country and our nation.”
Recalling that all international organizations, particularly the UN, and all world leaders described the attack as an attack against Islam and Muslims, President Erdoğan said: “However, they are not calling it what it is. They cannot say ‘He is a Christian terrorist’. But if it was done by a Muslim, then they would say ‘Islamic terror’, which is an important point. I hereby address the West from İzmir; why cannot you say that?”
“EP’S DECISION TO SUSPEND NEGOTIATIONS WITH TURKEY HAS NO TRUE VALUE”
Noting that the European Parliament is attacking Turkey on grounds of the arguments of the separatist terrorist organization and FETO, President Erdoğan said: “If they had the chance, they would not hesitate a moment to hand over our country to terrorist organizations.”
Underscoring that EP’s decision to suspend negotiations with Turkey has no true value, President Erdoğan said: “If the EU makes such a decision, it would be so nice, so good. We have already been waiting for that decision. Make that decision, we are ready but no, they cannot.”
