Erdogan says Turkey will have the best army in the world — RT World News

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to make Ankara’s army the « number one » in the world, claiming that he has done « inspiring » major achievements and advances in training in recent years.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Turkey’s National Defense University in Istanbul on Friday, Erdogan hailed the military for its help « in the construction of a great and powerful Turkey », to add « there is no threat that the army cannot defeat on land, at sea and in the air. »

“We will constantly be reborn and take new steps until we make the Turkish army the number one in the world with all its elements, training, equipment, technology and experience,” continues the president.

Although he recognized « gaps and areas for improvement » in Ankara’s military training system, Erdogan said the opening of the National Defense University in 2017 was a major turning point, saying he « completely changed » the education and training of new troops.

“We have brought together all of our military education and training institutions under one roof. Within this common structure, we have created a modern education system that reflects both the examples of the world and the needs of today,” he added.

The president also briefly touched on broader geopolitical issues during his speech, discussing the NATO alliance, of which Turkey is a member, and new candidacies from Finland and Sweden to join the bloc.

« The first step is for candidate countries to accept our conditions and commit in writing, and the last two countries are not members, they are subject to an invitation to join. This is an invitation to join us. he said. « If they meet the conditions, we will do our part. »

Ankara initially opposed membership applications, accusing the two Nordic states of harboring terror groups, but has since reduced that stance, now demanding that Helsinki and Stockholm agree to extradite terror suspects if they are to be admitted to NATO. Officials from all sides reached a 10-point agreement to resolve outstanding issues earlier this week, but Erdogan later warned that Turkey could still block the decision if Sweden or Finland backtracked.