As the global power competition takes place in our region, Türkiye is directly affected by every development, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, adding: "We don't have the luxury to watch it from the tribunes."

Addressing an iftar event at the presidential complex in Ankara on Thursday, the Turkish president said: "We must be prepared for all scenarios and manage and steer the events in our region in a way that benefits our country."

Touching upon Syrians returning to their country, Erdogan said that Türkiye did "what was right, moral, and conscientious" in the neighboring country.

Since Bashar al Assad's fall in Syria, 133,000 of "our Syrian guests have voluntarily and honorably returned" to their homeland, said Erdogan, stating that so far, 873,000 Syrians have safely returned to Syria.

Pointing out Türkiye's counterterrorism efforts, Erdogan said that Ankara is "closer than ever" to permanently and definitively freeing the nation from terrorism "that has exploited people’s blood, lives, and resources for 40 years."