Comments in support, memes testifying to bilateral friendship, collages created with artificial intelligence, and even Spanish speech on Turkish television - this is how people in Turkey accepted Madrid's firm stance against the war in the Middle East, expressing their solidarity with an avalanche of reactions on social networks, BTA reported.
After the US-Israeli strikes against Iran in late February and the subsequent retaliatory actions of the Iranian regime, Spain stood out from other countries in Europe with its particularly firm stance against the escalation of tensions. Early last week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez strongly condemned the actions of the US and Israel, and Madrid announced that the bases located on Spanish territory "cannot be used for the operation (in Iran) and will not be used for anything that is not included in the agreement with the US or is not in accordance with the UN Charter". This position undoubtedly strained relations between Washington and Madrid, with US President Donald Trump threatening to cut off US trade relations with Spain, and in the meantime, US aircraft stationed at military bases on Spanish territory have left the country.
Against the backdrop of these events, social networks in Turkey were flooded with a huge wave of support for Spain, which grew into a real public phenomenon.
Earlier last week, when US aircraft were withdrawing from Spain, a number of users from Turkey began posting photos with Spanish and Turkish flags placed side by side. There were also numerous videos of Turks playing famous Spanish tunes on traditional instruments, as well as those showing football fans chanting in support of Spain. Among the most popular posts were those that included a quote from a speech by the Spanish Prime Minister, which read: "We are not afraid! We will not be accomplices in the war" - words that, as the Turkish newspaper "Hürriyet" noted - "fired up Turkish users".
Along with the many photos and posts expressing Turkish support for the Spanish, a number of posts with amusing and ironic content also appeared on social networks. Some of them contained altered geographical maps of Europe, on which Turkey was placed next to Spain, others - images showing the unusual compatibility of the geographical outlines of the two countries, and still others - photos of Spanish celebrities that had been edited to look like they had had hair transplants, a reference to Turkey's popularity as a destination for such procedures. The latter images became so popular that a post by Ex, featuring an edited photo of famous Spanish footballer Andres Iniesta and a humorous comment that read "No Spaniard will go bald", was shown by Spanish TV presenter Emilio Fayo, who declared on air that "Turks and Spaniards are brothers".
Spain's image in Turkey was further strengthened by last Wednesday's incident in which a ballistic missile was shot down over Turkish airspace. Following the incident, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said that Spanish soldiers manning a Patriot missile battery in Turkey, detected and reported the missile threat, although they did not carry out the interception. This in turn further fueled positive comments about the relationship between the Spaniards and the Turks.
In the following days, news related to the showing of the image on Spanish television, as well as the wave of posts on social networks, appeared in many media outlets in Turkey, including “Hürriyet Daily News“, NTV, “Turkish Minute“ and others. In their materials, the Turkish media also recalled stories from the recent past related to the good relations and common positions held by Turkey and Spain, noting that Spain was one of the first countries to send support and rescue teams to Turkey after the devastating earthquakes of 2023, as well as that the country had taken a similar position to Turkey's regarding the Gaza Strip and the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Thus, at the end of the working week, one of the Turkish television stations - Halk TV - also made a curious appearance. During the evening news broadcast on Thursday, the presenter Ece Yuner made a special greeting to all Spaniards, saying first in Turkish and then in Spanish - “Thank you for standing on the right side of history. Thank you for representing the common conscience of humanity“.