ISTANBUL: Standing before business leaders at the Istanbul Expo Center, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a blistering message on September 26: those accused of war crimes belong in a courtroom, not on the world’s grandest diplomatic stage.
Speaking at the close of the MÜSİAD EXPO trade fair, Erdoğan declared that Israeli officials sought by the International Criminal Court should face justice for the lives lost in Gaza and Lebanon, not stand at the United Nations podium as though nothing had happened. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who addressed the General Assembly despite an outstanding ICC arrest warrant, was the unspoken target of Erdoğan’s words. The Turkish leader praised the diplomats who walked out during Netanyahu’s speech, calling their silent protest a signal that Palestinians were not forgotten.
Erdoğan’s tone sharpened further as he accused Israel of genocide, vowing that Türkiye would not waver in defending Palestinian rights, “whatever they do,” he said, “we will not back down.”
Beyond the battlefield, Erdoğan turned philosopher, warning that artificial intelligence and robotics, for all their promise, could wound humanity if profit outpaced principle. He called on leaders across society to weigh those risks carefully.
The president closed on firmer economic ground, celebrating six straight years of quarterly growth and export earnings nearing $405 billion proof, he suggested, that Türkiye’s resilience extends from its factories to its foreign policy.
