The president of Turkey sent messages in all directions both for the situation in and on, but also for, Cyprus and , with his speech during the official opening ceremony of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.
What did he say about the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus?
More specifically, the Turkish president, addressing the neighboring countries, emphasized that: “As Turkey, I want it to be known that we are open to cooperation with our neighbors through projects with a vision, such as the Development Road, in the fields of energy and transport interconnection. Turkey wants to see the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean transformed into a region of stability and prosperity. At the same time, it rejects unilateral maximalist attitudes that attempt to exclude Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”. The president of Turkey also emphasized that “while Turkey continues to support the goal of full integration into the European Union, it expects the Union to overcome its own crisis of orientation and remain faithful to the vision of its founders”, while he noted that “Turkey, while on the one hand continues to pursue a peaceful foreign policy in different regions and continents, on the other hand simultaneously strengthens its existing alliance ties”.
Israel Targets Gaza, Lebanon
Among other things, Tayyip Erdogan said: “Today the world is experiencing not only a crisis of power but also a crisis of orientation. Developments clearly show that we are facing a serious and dangerous turning point. The mechanisms established to protect human rights and global security are proving unable to deal with the most serious attacks and often remain indifferent. The crisis of the world system is first and foremost a moral and existential crisis. One only has to look at what has happened in the Gaza Strip since October 7 to understand the magnitude of this crisis. To interpret what is happening in Gaza simply as a humanitarian tragedy is not enough. The genocide in Gaza clearly demonstrated what the current international order allows. How can we be expected to trust a system that yesterday failed in Syria and Gaza, and today is failing in the West Bank and Lebanon, to meet even the most basic test of humanity?”
Erdogan’s position on Iran, ceasefire and Straits
Referring to the tension between the United States, Israel and Iran, Erdogan argued that “the window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire must be effectively used to establish a lasting peace. No matter how deep the differences, we must not allow weapons to replace dialogue, nor bloody conflicts to take the place of negotiations. If Iran is on one side of the Straits of Hormuz, Oman is on the other. The right of the Gulf countries to access the high seas should not be curtailed. The key issue is to ensure freedom of navigation, based on established international norms, and to keep the Straits of Hormuz open to commercial ships. It is extremely important that the parties involved move in a spirit of reconciliation. At the same time, there must be vigilance against Israel’s attempts to undermine the negotiation process.”
Erdogan also referred to the issue of Syria, where according to him “the strengthening of peace, stability and normalization in neighboring Syria is of vital importance for the future of our region”, but also to the war in Ukraine, where he reiterated Turkey’s willingness “to support initiatives that will facilitate the continuation of direct negotiations, even the organization of a summit of leaders, if the parties involved so desire”.
