Turkish president marks 98th anniversary of Victory Day

Turkey on Sunday celebrated the 98th anniversary of Victory Day, which commemorates the resounding defeat of the Greek forces at the hands of the Turks in the Battle of Dumlupinar in 1922.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, senior government and high-ranking military officials, and opposition leaders laid a wreath at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital Ankara.

"Our critical achievements in different fields are the clearest indication of our will to protect the rights and interests of our country," Erdogan wrote in the Anitkabir memorial book.

He also wrote: "We are determined to enter 2023, where we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our Republic, as a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous country in economic, military, political, and diplomatic terms."

The Turkish president also addressed the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and noted: "Turkey, in the Eastern Mediterranean in particular, will not bow to threatening, intimidation and blackmailing language, will continue to defend its rights arising from international law and bilateral agreements."

Earlier, Erdogan also issued a statement to mark the Victory Day.

“With the victory on Aug. 30 [1922], it has been declared to the whole world once again that these lands are our eternal homeland,” he said.

“It is no coincidence that those who tried to exclude our country from the Eastern Mediterranean and those who attempted to invade our country a century ago are the same invaders,” Erdogan added.