Turkish Presidential Candidate Kilicdaroglu Makes Promises on Visa-Free EU Travel, Investments, and Refugee Repatriation

Turkish Presidential Candidate Kilicdaroglu Makes Promises on Visa-Free EU Travel, Investments, and Refugee Repatriation
2023-05-12T20:09:51+00:00

Shafaq News/ On Friday, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate for the Turkish presidency, made several promises that he intends to implement if elected. These promises include visa-free entry for Turkish citizens into the European Union, attracting investments worth $300 billion, and repatriating Syrian and Afghan refugees to their countries of origin. In addition, Kilicdaroglu has communicated with the public through daily video messages.

The opposition coalition supporting Kilicdaroglu has announced that over 561,000 opposition employees and volunteers will monitor the elections to ensure transparency. Kilicdaroglu expressed mistrust toward the state-run Anadolu News Agency, which traditionally publishes election results, and stated that their observers would scrutinize the final documents for accuracy.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized Kilicdaroglu's promise of attracting $300 billion in investments, citing Turkey's independence from the International Monetary Fund since 2013.

Kilicdaroglu also pledged to unite with Iraq, Iran, and Syria to combat terrorism and emphasized Turkey's regional dominance and its goal of becoming the most powerful country in the Mediterranean basin.

Kilicdaroglu aims to ensure the continuation of the grain deal, resolve the conflict in Ukraine, and adhere to the Montreux Convention if elected. He emphasized the importance of maintaining healthy relations with Russia for Turkey's interests.

Although Kilicdaroglu denied making statements about imposing new sanctions on Russia, two tweets appeared on his official page urging Russia to keep its hands off the Turkish state, with the origin of these tweets remaining unknown.

Moscow has stated that it respects the will of Turkish citizens in the upcoming elections and does not intend to interfere in the electoral process. Kilicdaroglu pledged to be the president of all Turkish citizens and proposed ruling jointly with seven vice presidents based on reason and knowledge.

He also promised to repatriate Syrian and Afghan refugees within a maximum of two years and to resume negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union, aiming to allow Turkish citizens to travel to the EU without visas within three months.

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