Turkish president: My brothers Aliyev, Sharif demonstrated our unwavering solidarity to world

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that he had been in Karabakh on May 28, where he and his counterparts commemorated Azerbaijan’s Independence Day in the town of Lachin with “great pride”.

“Together with my brother, President Ilham Aliyev, and my brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, we once again demonstrated our solidarity to the entire world,” Caliber.Az quotes  Erdoğan as saying per Turkish media.

“Today, we are also commemorating the 572nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul,” Erdoğan said.

“On May 29, 1453, a victorious commander with tactical and strategic brilliance led a determined army to capture the city.”

Referring to the 53-day siege of Constantinople led by Sultan Mehmed II, known as Mehmed the Conqueror, Erdoğan noted the ruler’s young age and historic impact.

“The siege lasted 53 days and resulted in a dazzling victory under the leadership of Fatih, who was only 21 years old at the time,” he said. Quoting the poet Yahya Kemal, Erdoğan added: “‘Those 53 days—what a majestic spectacle it was, as if a dream the people saw with their eyes open. Now five centuries have passed since that great memory; that tumult was witnessed in those 53 days.’ From Üsküdar, five centuries later, the late Yahya Kemal engraved the vision of conquest into our souls with these verses.”

Erdoğan paid tribute to Sultan Mehmed and his troops, describing their achievement as a defining moment in Turkish and world history.

“By closing one era and opening another, Fatih Sultan Mehmed Han gifted this victory to our nation. I remember him and his army with mercy, gratitude, and reverence,” he said. “May the 572nd anniversary of the conquest be blessed. May Allah be pleased with the soldiers and their commander who made it possible.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev