Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the reporters and citizens after the cabinet meeting in the capital city of Ankara yesterday (December 28).
Erdoğan talked about a series of issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing vaccine research and the recent European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Grand Chamber judgement on arrested former Co-Chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş.
Repeating his former remarks on the ruling of immediate release given by the Grand Chamber, Erdoğan alleged that "the ECtHR gave a judgement which was contrary to its own legal procedures."
"In response to this, we said, 'This is double standard, we will not enforce this ruling which is given not with legal, but political motivations.' Then, they were up in arms, asking me how I could say something like that.
"If they had the authority to manage these affairs themselves, then, they would apparently release a terrorist supporter, with the blood on dozens of people in his hands, immediately," he added.
Indicating that "Turkey did not deserve such a mindset of opposition," President and AKP Chair Erdoğan moved on to express his "belief that the country would introduce a radical reform of opposition with the will and wisdom of the ones voting for these parties."
Announcing that the distance education amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended until February 15, Erdoğan briefly said the following:
'Digital infrastructure as important as borders'
"National cyber security strategy and action plan were also on our agenda. Cybersecurity, which has become an inseparable part of digitalization, is one of the most important subjects meticulously followed.
"A major increase in cyber threats accompanies digitalization, which already constitutes an inseparable part of our life in every area ranging from security and health to education and home appliances. So much so that the protection of national physical borders are now almost as important as the safeguarding of countries' digital infrastructures and data.
"We actually took the first step in this direction with the formation of the National Computer Emergency Response Center about seven years ago.
"Taking into consideration current needs and threats, we have also taken action to set out a new strategy with a comprehensive and holistic approach regarding our country's cybersecurity policies.
"We have shaped our strategy with an indigenous and national approach since we have recenly faced obstructions, some overt others covert, in the areas of, inter alia, digital infrastructures and cybersecurity.
"We will launch our own communication satellite into space in 2022. We are building a strong and deterrent infrastructure by developing our own national cybersecurity technologies. In line with our aim to become a country steering technology, we will defend our sovereign rights in every area from the blue homeland to cyberspace.
'Eight different vaccine studies in Turkey'
"Turkey is one of the countries that successfully deal with the pandemic in every field, healthcare in particular. We have been working to ease the difficulties caused by the decisions we made to curb the increase of the pandemic through direct supports to individuals.
"It is totally impossible for us to fall behind the vaccine supply and development works in order for Turkey to manage the normalization process together with the entire world. Therefore, we have been closely following all vaccine studies regardless of their origin, making the necessary examinations and signing agreements according to the results.
"We look at all the alternatives to overcome the setbacks. We expect the first batch of the vaccine we ordered from China to be delivered to our country before the new year. We also hope that the vaccine to be procured from Germany will arrive in our country in January.
"Developments indicate that the pandemic will not fall off the world's agenda for quite a long time. Therefore, we attach the greatest importance and give the highest priority to our own vaccines, which we have developed with both traditional and innovative methods.
"Thanks to the hi-tech infrastructures we have built over the past 18 years and the efforts of our scientists, we are successfully carrying out eight different vaccine studies currently,"
'Free trade agreement with the UK'
"Our export volume has surpassed all our targets for the whole of 2020 as of December 25 and reached 166 billion dollars. On this occasion, I would like to share with you the good news of a development which has great importance in terms of our foreign trade.
"As is known, the process which has started within the framework of the decision taken by the UK, one of our most important trade partners, to leave the European Union will be completed on Thursday.
"We have closely monitored this process since the very beginning with the participation of our business world in order for our trade relations not to get harmed. After long negotiations, we have reached the stage of signing a free trade agreement with the UK.
"The agreement will hopefully be signed tomorrow (December 29).
"It will be our second most important trade agreement after the Customs Union agreement A new era, in which both Turkey and the UK will win, will hopefully begin as of 2021." (EKN/SD)
