‘War criminals’ belong in courtrooms, not at UN rostrum: Turkish president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that “war criminals” belong in courtrooms rather than at the UN rostrum, stressing that those committing genocide must be held accountable.

“War criminals belong not at the UN rostrum, but in courtrooms where they will answer for the crimes they have committed and the blood they have shed,” Erdogan said at the closing program of the 21st MUSIAD EXPO International Trade Fair and 29th International Business Forum in Istanbul.

“If those committing genocide are not held accountable before justice and history, the same atrocities will happen again,” he warned.

Erdogan reiterated Türkiye’s support for Palestinians, saying: “The Palestinian people are not alone or abandoned.”

“Our sisters and brothers in Gaza are not alone in their quest for rights and justice,” he stressed.

“We will continue, to the best of our ability, to tell the truth and be the voice of the oppressed,” he added.

Erdogan further said the region with Türkiye at its center is experiencing a “full-blown storm of crises,” while the global system is facing an impasse in terms of “legitimacy, representation and justice.”

Turning to the economy, he said Türkiye has recorded uninterrupted growth for the past 24 quarters and is currently the world’s 16th-largest and Europe’s sixth-largest economy.

He added that the number of Turkish exporting companies increased from 33,000 in 2002 to 168,000 in 2025.

“With the new Medium-Term Program we announced 20 days ago, we will continue resolutely in line with our sustainable and balanced growth targets,” Erdogan said.