Erdogan on opposition probe into fund: ‘We will not yield to provocation’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the opening of the Cerkёy–Kapikule line, responded to an opposition investigation into a fund and said the authorities would not yield to provocation.
Yulduz Salimov2 min read
On October 9, 2026, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at the opening ceremony of the high-speed railway line Cerkёy–Kapikule, responded to an opposition investigation into a fund. According to him, the authorities will not yield to provocation.
Reaction to opposition investigation
"We will not yield to provocation," Erdogan said.
We will not allow this unprincipled policy, this shameful policy. Whoever encroaches on the rights, the law and the property of the people will face us.
Erdogan said that the opposition has been doing the same thing for 24 years, has no concrete projects, and only spreads lies, speculation and disinformation. He urged citizens not to fall into the "trap of political adventurers with tarnished reputations."
According to him, the authorities "will never allow either screen mercenaries or slanderers in the guise of politicians" to settle scores with dignity and carry out extrajudicial reprisals.
Opening of the Cerkёy–Kapikule line
At the ceremony, Erdogan thanked EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. According to him, the Halkali–Kapikule line, 229 km long, was built as double-track, electrified and with signaling; it connects Tekirdag, Kirklareli and Edirne to the high-speed network up to Kapikule.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said that the Cerkёy–Kapikule line has a length of 153 km and connects Turkey to the European railway network. He called it a critical gateway of the Middle Corridor to Europe and a link in the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars–Marmaray railway chain.
According to Uraloglu, after completion of all sections of the Halkali–Kapikule line, passenger travel time will be reduced from 4 hours to 1.5 hours, and freight from 8.5 hours to 3.5 hours. Annual passenger capacity will grow from 600,000 to 3.4 million, freight from 1.5 million tons to 9.6 million tons.
He noted that work continues on the Ispartakule–Cerkёy section, 69 km long, and the Halkali–Ispartakule section, about 7 km long, is planned to open before the end of the year. The length of Turkey's railway network has reached 14,272 km. The goal is to bring the number of cities directly connected by high-speed line to 27 by 2028. The tender for the Northern Istanbul railway passage project is scheduled for October 14.
Source: cnnturk.com
