Turkey's President Abdullah Gul urged calm on Monday after days of violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters and promised them their message had been "received".
"Democracy does not only mean elections," Gul was quoted by the Anatolia news agency as saying on the fourth day of nationwide anti-government protests.
"The messages delivered with good intentions have been received."
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said that protesters were manipulated by extremist groups and should show their discontent "at the ballot box", urging them to end their demonstrations immediately.
"I am calling on all my citizens to abide by the rules and state their objections and views in a peaceful way, as they have already done," Gul added.
The president said the protesters should watch out for "illegal organisations" infiltrating their demonstrations.
He warned against actions that would tarnish Turkey's image.
The protests started out as a local environment campaign and quickly turned into one of the biggest demonstrations against Erdogan's government since it took power over a decade ago.
