Baghdad: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that his country will continue to defend truth, justice, peace, and stability, despite all provocations. In a message addressed to the Turkish people on Sunday, marking the 104th anniversary of Victory Day on August 30, President Erdogan stated: “Despite the provocations of those who thrive on instability, Turkey, as a nation and a people, will continue to defend truth, justice, peace, and stability.”

According to National Iraqi News Agency, President Erdogan emphasized, “With the victory of August 30, it was reaffirmed that the lands where we have lived freely for a thousand years are our eternal and everlasting homeland.” He continued, “Today, there is a Turkey that strives to prevent injustice, regardless of its source, and stands with the oppressed, regardless of their identity, and does not hesitate to pay the price when necessary.”

Turkey celebrates Victory Day on August 30 every year, commemorating the victory over the Allied and Greek forces in 1922. It is worth noting that the Allied forces, with the support of Greek forces, managed to defeat the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and occupy large parts of Turkey. However, the Turks, under the leadership of their founder Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, launched extensive offensives between 1919 and 1922, during which they succeeded in expelling the Allied forces from large swathes of Turkish territory.

On August 26, 1922, the Turks launched a major offensive, capturing all the Greek fighting positions and defensive lines that had invaded Ottoman territory and liberating the city of Afyonkarahisar. On August 30, the Turks inflicted a crushing defeat on the Greek army at the Battle of Dumlupinar in the western province of Ktahya. Following this victory, the Turkish armed forces advanced to liberate western Anatolia and rescued the city of Izmir on September 9, 1922, thus achieving the complete liberation of Turkish lands in a very short period.