During his address, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, ''My brothers are longing for their homeland. There is a heavy price for this yearning. We want to see those who are abroad and longing for the homeland among us.
Being away from your homeland is at the same time an oddity. We cannot tolerate this oddity. This longing for the homeland must come to an end. We want this to be over. In fact with this activity right now, I truly understand that this longing for the homeland needs to end.
Then let's just say, let this yearning end. On this very meaningful evening, I am calling out in Turkish, as the children of an ancient civilization, to leave homesickness and longing aside." (The moment Erdoğan said that this yearning must come to an end, the audience responded with a standing ovation that went on for minutes.)
