Citing ongoing crises across the globe, the Turkish president on Saturday said his country not only survived troubling times but is also moving forward as it aims to increase the range of its domestic missile from 565 kilometers to 1,000 kilometers (351 to 621 miles).
During a visit to the southwestern Mugla province, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said since he took office in the early 2000s domestic defense industry production of the nation’s arsenal rose from 20% to 80%, Anadolu Agency reported.
"National matters are above politics and should remain so. If we have achieved gains in the Mediterranean, the Aegean, and the Black Seas, we must protect this together, without exception," he said.
Erdogan said the testing of domestic missiles is continuing and added that such tests are "scaring" Greece, underlining tests from the coastal city of Izmir, near Greek islands in the Aegean.
"Tests are being carried out from Izmir, and a missile that might be launched from there begins to scare them,” said the president.
MNA/PR