Turkey‘s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a fierce attack on the European Union, especially Germany and Italy, for the persecution of Russian artists and the banning of Russian works.

He also accused the US and Europe of militarily supporting the Syrian Kurds.

“It is necessary for the Western world to confront this disease of racism that is enveloping societies like a cancer,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, speaking to the parliamentary group of the ruling AKP party yesterday (file photo, top, Reuters/Murat Cetinmuhurdar).

“Just as we do not accept the lack of support for Ukraine, we do not accept practices that amount to a witch-hunt against the Russian people, against Russian literature, students and artists,” he added.

He continued, citing examples from Germany and Italy:

“See the mess. You see in Germany, the conductor of the philharmonic is fired as a friend of Putin. But is such nonsense possible? Is this nonsense happening? On the other hand, you see that in Italy and in various European countries, Dostoyevsky‘s works are banned. But is such nonsense possible? What is the difference between this and the historic destruction and burning of the Baghdad library? They are the same. ”

Also, citing the increase in oil prices, he spoke about Turkey‘s drilling operations and the purchase of a new drilling ship.

“It is also important to note that our per capita national income increased by more than $900 compared to the previous year and thus reached $9,539 despite the increase in the exchange rate.

“We are closely monitoring the increases in fuel tariffs caused by the rapid rise in oil prices last year. First God we are now increasing our drilling rigs to four. First God we are buying a brand new fourth drillship and that will make us much more powerful in our drilling operations,” he said.

On the war in Ukraine he noted:

“The organizations whose mission is to ensure global security and stability, in the face of this image, which is a disgrace to humanity, unfortunately do not lift a finger. I wonder.

“Where are these countries that globally say they have power in their hands? Did they come? Did they lack the necessary support? No, but they only give a lot of advice. ”

And referring to the West‘s attitude towards the Syrian Kurds, he attacked the US and Europe:

“In fact, beyond that, they tried to stop our military operations across the border, which were aimed at ensuring stability and security. In this process we have not only been left to our own devices, but at the same time we have been subjected to many open and veiled threats, blackmail and embargoes.

“Under the pretext of fighting ISIS, we have seen them legitimize the terrorist organization and support it with tens of thousands of truckloads of weapons. And that includes the US and Europe. These terrorists were provided with all kinds of support in the form of various weapons, vehicles and ammunition. ”