Ankara calls Israel's 'dictator' label for Erdoğan vile slander

Türkiye's Foreign Ministry responded to a statement by its Israeli counterpart attacking President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over his speech at the COP31 Leaders' Summit in Antalya, calling it another example of Israeli officials' efforts to conceal the facts.

Türkiye's Foreign Ministry responded on Wednesday evening to a statement by Israel's Foreign Ministry that attacked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and called him a “dictator” over his speech at the opening of the COP31 Leaders' Summit in Antalya.

In its statement, Türkiye's Foreign Ministry said the vile and brazen slanders directed at President Erdoğan by Israel's Foreign Ministry constituted another example of Israeli officials' futile efforts to conceal the facts.

Türkiye's Foreign Ministry building in Ankara

The statement added that Erdoğan had once again placed Israel's systematic policies of injustice on the world's agenda in his speech and expressed sentiments and ideas that resonate with humanity's shared conscience. It stressed that Türkiye would continue to stand alongside all those oppressed and targeted by Israel's aggressive policies, foremost among them the Palestinians.

Israel's Foreign Ministry had claimed that Erdoğan was once again using an international forum to promote an anti-Israel campaign, held Hamas responsible for the destruction in Gaza, alleged that the movement's leaders reside in Türkiye, and called for the movement to be disarmed so reconstruction could begin.

In his speech to the summit, Erdoğan said the Netanyahu government had not been satisfied with what it had perpetrated in Gaza and had also carried out “environmental genocide” by uprooting olive trees.