Turks in Europe are not 'the other': Turkish president

Erdogan says Turks in Europe are not foreigners but hosts

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s president said on Monday that Turks in Europe are not foreigners and do not constitute "the other".

Addressing an event in Geneva which marked the 50th anniversary of the migration of Turks to Switzerland, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey views Turks in Switzerland and in the rest of Europe as "human bridges".

Erdogan said they support the equal participation of Turks in Switzerland to the Swiss society.

He said that they are against the assimilation of Turks but support the integration of them.

“We [Turks] … are not foreigners, definitely not the other in Europe, instead, we are the host in Europe today as it has been throughout the history,” the Turkish leader said.

Erdogan is in Geneva to attend the first-ever Global Refugee Forum between Dec. 16-18.

Earlier on Monday, he separately received Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre and European representatives of International Democrat Union.

Kaynak: