while we greet a head of state. announcer: turkish president erdogan focused his u.n. general assembly remarks on the ongoing conflict in syria. he also called on the united nations to do more for the

muslim rohingya people in the r.marked --myanma >> the assembly will hear an address by his excellency president erdogan, of the republic of turkey. [applause] i request protocol to escort his excellency. on behalf of the general assembly, i have the honor to welcome to the united nations, his excellency, president of the republic of turkey, and invite him to address the assembly. [applause]

president erdogan: honorable president, honorable secretary-general, distinguished heads of state and government, esteemed delegates, i greet you with respect on behalf of my own self and my country. . . . i would like to thank mr. peter thompson for his successful work over the past year as he was the president of the 71st session of the un's general assembly. i would also like to congratulate his successor. i hope this year's session of the general assembly convening with the theme of focusing on people, striving for peace and a decent life for all, in a

sustainable planet will bring goodness to all of the world's people. honorable president, esteemed delegates, unfortunately global , peace and stability have regressed further since our meeting last year. we continue to see the ugly face of terrorism and war, in different corners of the world. terrorists, who are fed by the environment of conflict, continue their acts, spreading them across different regions. we are anxiously observing the violent actions of radical currents converging on xenophobia, cultural racism and animosity against islam. the most positive way of reversing this negative outlook would be to engage in a sincere

cooperation here under this roof. -- the most effective way. we need to develop a new perspective to promote world peace. no crisis, no threat can possibly be resolved by leaving it to play out on its own. we all have to shoulder responsibility for a safer and more prosperous world. it is with this understanding that turkey is pursuing a n enterprising and humanitarian foreign policy. honorable mr. president, esteemed delegates, the syrian conflict enters its seventh year. this conflict has created deep wounds in the country, the region and the whole world as well. in syria, a whole civilization is being annihilated, with civilians and innocent children. destroying this country, being

fed by instability and oppression, terrorism now spreads like a cancer across its borders. who tooke of syria action demanding democracy, freedom, justice and a bright -- wereor -- were unfit unfortunately left alone by the international community. turkey could not remain in different to the tragedy of these people, some of whom we see as our brothers and sisters, regardless of their original freed. to whom we are connected with deep historical ties. since the outbreak of the conflict in syria in the spring of 2011, we have exerted every kind of humanitarian and political effort to solve the problem and we will continue to do so. we are currently hosting more than 3 million syrians, and more than 200,000 iraqis in our

country. we have launched, together with atana and iran, the meetings with the participation of all conflicting parties in an attempt to establish a permanent cease-fire and peace in the country. following our initiative, the geneva process, which was blocked for a long time, has now been revived. we are putting into practice now, a new plan to ensure the security of the idlib region in syria, within a framework of the agreement reached in asana. turkey would be supportive of every step towards this based on the territorial integrity and respect for the democratic demand of its people.

we have taken and continue to take all kinds of measures for those who came to our country with the outbreak of the syrian crisis, and to stem the influx of refugees into europe. we meet all the needs of these people, from shelter, food, clothing, health care, at standards which are appreciated by everyone who visits our country. but i would like to underscore that we have not received provisional support from the international community, especially from the european union, for the efforts we have been carrying out. the expenditures of our public institutions, of our civil society organizations and our people, in order to meet the needs of those living in the camps and cities in turkey, have so far exceeded 30 bit -- 13 billion u.s. dollars. in turn the european union has

, only sunk 820 million euros out of the 3 billion euros that they in fact promised. total assistance from the international community, through the united nations remains around $520 million. it did not come into our budget, mind you. this money goes to the syrians, i should point out. it is intended for them. none of this money goes into turkey's budget. this money is given to those in need by the relief agencies, through the relevant institutions of the united nations mind you. before the whole world here, i hereby call on all the countries and the international organizations which have put all of the burden of the 3.2 million people on turkish shoulders

only, i call on them to fulfill the promises they have made. in fact, turkey is a country that carries out humanitarian aid and development assistance activities around the world. not only do we welcome those who come to our country, but through the turkish cooperation and coordination agency, through the disaster and management authority of turkey and through the turkish red crescent, and various other civil society organizations, we rush to the help of all those who are suffering and under oppression, regardless of which part of the world they may be. for example, through its official institutions and civil society organizations, turkey has spent one billion u.s. dollars for the reconstruction of somalia so far. the work that we carry out would indeed set an example for similar efforts.

according to confirmed oecd statistics, with $6 billion, of humanitarian and development as in 2016, turkey ranked the world's second-largest donor and top contributor in terms of gnp. yes, turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world. having spent .8% of its national income for humanitarian assistance, turkey is one of the six countries that could meet the united nations target. so, as you see, turkey is working really hard to word a -- toward a sustainable world, which is the main message of this general assembly. and we will continue in the , coming days with the same consideration in mind.

honorable mr. president, esteemed delegates, turkey is engaged in an intensive fight against the bloody terrorist organizations of the region such as daesh and the pkk, nourished by the instability in syria and iraq. additionally, our fight against the terrorist organizations which attempted to change the legitimate and democratic regime of turkey by a bloody coup is also ongoing. we have recovered 243 residential areas, in land larger than 2000 square kilometers, thanks to the euphrates shield initiated in syria following the attacks on our borders. daesh. we have neutralized 3000

daesh militants during that operation. around 100,000 syrians returned to and resettled in the region that we cleaned up from the terrorists. the operation euphrates shield is the single greatest accomplishment against daesh since the occupation of the region. i must highlight the following fact, most of the group claiming to fight against daesh in the region have no such real purpose. these groups and forces use daesh as a pretext to realize their own agenda. the efforts to change the demographic structure in the region it has captured, to seize the property of its people, to kill or exile those who stand against it, all of these things form a crime against humanity. if the fight against daesh is not conducted on a legitimate basis it will be unavoidable for , the world to come under the threat of a new daesh-like

entity. this exists in iran as well. iraq also needs the compromises to be reached on the basis of territorial integrity to build a common future. things such as a demand for independence that can cause , conflicts in the region must be avoided. we hereby call on the iraqi kurdish regional government to - abort the initiative they have launched in that direction. ignoring the clear and determine d calls of turkey in that matter will lead to a conflict which , will deny the iraqi-kurdish government of the opportunities they currently enjoy. we all should work on building tranquility, peace, security and stability instead of sparking new conflicts in the region.

esteemed mr. president, esteemed delegates, besides syria and iraq, we are also closely following the region such as libya and yemen, where terrorist organizations are trying to establish influence. international communities support through the legitimate government in libya, shall cons -- shall contribute significantly to the stability of the country. it should be kept in mind, that if the mistakes made in syria and iraq are repeated nvidia, -- are repeated in libya, that will expose the whole world, particularly europe to much greater threats. another issue that turkey lays delicate emphasis on is of the immediate resolution of conflicts that have corrupted in the gulf region -- conflict that has erupted in the gulf region.

we believe that the sanctions negatively affecting the living conditions of the qatari people should be lifted. we support the mediation efforts of the emir of kuwait for the resolution of the crisis. our hope is that these efforts would yield a positive result. we also hope that saudi arabia, whom we see as another problem -- our brother in the gulf region would show it sincere , will for the resolution of this issue. another important problem is the issue of palestine, which we consider to be the gaping wound of the world. and by extension, the preservation of the historical -- historical states of both jerusalem and sharif, at the temple mount. the sensitivity of the issue has been demonstrated. the continuation of the peace process there can only be

possible on the condition that israel in really stops is legal settlement activities and takes steps towards a two-state solution. thatis context, i call on international community to support our palestinian brothers and sisters in eastern jerusalem, the west bank and gaza as they struggle for an , independent and geographically unified palestinian state. despite the current absence of conflict, the balkans is another potential crisis which still faces serious challenges. for this reason, we attach great importance to the integration of balkan countries with the euro atlantic institutions. - turkey will continue to do its part for peace, stability and welfare to prevail in this exceptional part of the world. the territorial integrity of

azerbaijan and georgia is the key for regional stability in the southern caucasus. we need to work harder for the resolution of conflicts in areas such as south ossetia, noticing -- not forgetting that each crisis that we ignore today has ae potential to spark regional and even global crisis tomorrow. in this framework, i would also like to underline that we are against all sorts of nuclear weapons, which have come to increasingly occupy the world agenda in recent weeks. it is obvious that we could not overcome such problems unless we completely clean the world from the scorch of nuclear weapons. -- cleanse the world from the

scourge of nuclear weapons. we are saddened by the fact that a comprehensive negotiation process started in 2008 has ended due to the incomprehensible sounds of the greek cypriots. we will do our best to ensure that the natural resources discovered in the eastern mediterranean in recent years will serve the east, stability and welfare of the region. we are ready to consider proposals for a solution that -- thatm the rise of will respect the rights of turkish cypriots. while struggling with all of these global and regional problems, our world was shocked once again by the said news that -- the sad news that we received from myanmar a few weeks ago. the muslim community in myanmar is being subjected to almost an ethnic cleansing, with terrorist acts used as a pretext.

the villages of the rohingya had already been living in extreme poverty and misery and deprived of their citizenship rights are burned down as hundreds of thousands of people are forced to migrate from the region and the country. the camps in bangladesh, to which the people migrating from the region are diverted, those camps are not in a position to fulfill even the minimum humanitarian needs. as is the case in syria, the international community has not even given a good account of itself regarding the humanitarian plight which the rohingya muslims have been exposed to. if this tragedy in myanmar is not stopped, the history of humanity will face the embarrassment of another dark stage. what is most important is to peoplethat the rohingya will find refuge outside their

country, and maintain their lives and safety, these and welfare on their own lands, where they have lived for centuries. turkey is endeavoring for the solution of this crisis as well. recently, on occasion of the meetings of the oic, that organization of islam is corporation, we had a meeting on thestanaer a in with .- the matter in astana my wife, my son and ministers visited the camps in bangladesh immediately after the latest crisis and personally witnessed the humanitarian plight and the growing food and humanitarian aid was provided. we are now looking into the second phase of such aid. we will hold a meeting on the organization of the oic contact

group on rohingya people this afternoon. as i said, my wife, my son and our ministers and other ngos in turkey went there. is the official aid organization of turkey, went to there and it is the only officially aiding organization. the turkish red crescent and other ngos continue their activities providing humanitarian aid to the muslims there. it is concerned -- is concerned countries provide the necessary means, we would like to continue our assistance activities. i discussed these issues with the secretary-general of the united nations, and we are now preparing ourselves for further

steps. esteemed delegates, all of these and humanitarian tragedies confirm the relevance of our appeal for the restructuring of the u.n., especially the security council. 5. world is bigger than roof,ed here under this we need to understand that it is really late for us to reform the security council. so, under this roof, we are representing the whole world, but if we cannot display the will to prevent the murders by terrorist organizations and humanitarian crises, then everyone will search for their own ways to help themselves on their own. -- if this understanding prevails, our world will be dragged into a new storm of chaos.

if the countries in the west do likerevent things xenophobia, racism and animosity against islam, the countries in the crisis regions, if they do not demonstrate their will, if they do not cooperate, and if we , then cooperate all of us how can we possibly reach our ideals of peace and a decent life for all? the work by the honorable secretary-general, with whom we cooperated in the past closely, during his tenure as the u.n.h.c.r. it is not for the benefit of anyone, to uphold this system which no longer has the capacity to take concrete steps towards helping humanity in its current form.

we want to the un security council to have a democratic, transparent fare structure. we propose the security council consist of 20 members with the same rights and competencies to serve for two years, -- 2.5 years, and which are replaced every year. as such, all countries in the world will have a say in such an important institution when it is their turn. it is imperative that we transform the united nations into a different body, because the world is changing. the world has changed. it is not the same world. when the u.n. was established --er the second world war, we should be talking about the u.n. which is being administered by representatives from the entire world and as such will be the embodiment of humanities, -- conscience, we believe humanities, and conscience --

humanity's, andcommon conscience. i urge you to take action to stop the tears flowing in different parts of the world. thepe that the work of disposition of the general assembly will contribute to our efforts to that end. with this, as salute with amity and respect all countries and peoples represented under this roof. at this joint probably meant of humanity. on my own behalf and on behalf of my country, my greetings to you all, god bless you. [applause] >> on behalf of the general assembly, i wish to thank the president of the republic of turkey for the statement just made. may i request representatives to

remain seated while we greet the head of state. announcer: the united nations general secretary antonio guiter rez addressed the body for the first time. he focused the majority of his remarks on the growing tensions with the north korean government. this is 25 minutes. >> good morning. the third plenary meeting of the general assembly is called to order.