President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that wars and persecution continue to grip the region despite ongoing efforts to restore peace, stressing that innocent children are the ones who most often bear the cost, as he addressed the 48th TRT International Children’s Festival.
Highlighting the human toll of conflicts, Erdoğan said Türkiye is working to stop violence and wipe away children's tears, underlining that the ultimate goal is for all children to live in peace, security and brotherhood across the world. He emphasized that a life free from war, conflict, deprivation and poverty is "the most natural right" of every child.
Erdoğan also said Türkiye feels the pain, sorrow and disappointment caused by such crises "with full weight in its heart," whether in its region or beyond, reaffirming Ankara's commitment to standing with victims of conflict and advocating for a more just and compassionate global order.