'Türkiye will not show mercy to those attempting to divide state'

Türkiye will not allow anyone to target the country's sovereignty, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"We will show no mercy to those who attempt to divide our homeland and destroy our state," Erdogan said at a ceremony marking the 951st anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt.

Speaking at the event in the eastern Mus province, Erdogan said Türkiye will not tolerate any attack which targets the country's freedom.

"We did not harm a single innocent person while fighting in the field, and we act with this sensitivity," he added.

Battle of Malazgirt

Erdogan said Malazgirt symbolizes the opening of the Anatolian gate to the Turks, "never to be closed again."

"We will never forget Malazgirt, we will never let it be forgotten, we will always keep it alive in our hearts and minds," he added.

Turkish control of Anatolia began with the Battle of Malazgirt, also known as the Battle of Manzikert, on Aug. 26, 1071, which saw the Seljuk Turks led by Sultan Alparslan defeat a much larger Byzantine army.

The victory accelerated the decline of the Byzantine Empire, and led to more Turks settling in the region, paving the way for both the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic of Türkiye.

Centuries later, foreign occupation prompted Türkiye’s War of Independence in 1919, in which Turkish forces – led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – eventually drove the invaders from Anatolia.

By the end of 1922, all foreign forces had left the territories, which became a part of the Republic of Türkiye a year later.