Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking to Spread Conflict Throughout Entire Region

The Turkish leader slammed Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and said that the only way to ease tension in the region is to stop it

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sergey Karpukhin/TASS

© Sergey Karpukhin/TASS

ANKARA, April 16. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of seeking to expand the geography of its conflict with Palestine through the entire region.

"What happened at the end of last week (Iran’s operation against Israel - TASS) stems from the West’s double standards and demonstrated that a bigger war in the region is quite probable. Israel is indulging in provocative actions in a bid to spread the conflict throughout the entire region. Its attack on Iran’s embassy in Damascus, which was carried out in violation of international law, was the last straw," he told local television channels after a cabinet meeting.

He stressed that it is necessary to identify the root of the problem in the region "rather than judge only by what happened on the night of April 13," when Iran conducted its operation against Israel. "No one spoke up after the attack on the Iranian embassy, but for several countries. But a race of accusing Iran’s retaliation started immediately. But first of all, it is necessary to blame [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu who killed 34,000 innocent people in Gaza. Netanyahu and his cannibalish administration are the ones who are responsible for what happened on April 13," Erdogan stressed.

He slammed Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and said that the only way to ease tension in the region is to stop it.

He stressed that Turkey was the first country to impose restrictions on exports to Israel. "Long before the current developments with mass killings, Turkey banned the sale of any materials that can be used for military purposes to Israel," he said.