Erdogan: talks on Ukraine in Istanbul broke down due to "some lobbies"
According to President Erdogan, the negotiations on Ukraine in Istanbul failed due to the fact that "certain lobbies" did not want their successful completion, Anadolu reports. Nevertheless, Turkey will continue to do everything possible to end the conflict as soon as possible, before it causes even more destruction.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in New York to attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, spoke at a round table with representatives of some analytical centers operating in the United States.
President Erdogan said he was pleased to meet with leading representatives of international think tanks and would like to make a brief overview of global and regional events, as well as challenges from the point of view of Turkish foreign policy.
He noted that Turkey's basic principles are to strengthen friendship, reduce disagreements and ensure peace. Ankara, according to him, considers respect for international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states an indispensable condition, and in the modern world these principles are needed more than ever.
According to Erdogan, global challenges, difficulties and uncertainties in dealing with them, regional conflicts and humanitarian crises are obvious. "Almost every day we face new crises and new conflicts. Given this picture, we consider it necessary to strengthen multilateralism. We no longer live in the conditions of 1945, the Cold War or the unipolar order," he said.
The Turkish leader also stressed that the global system, primarily the UN, needs to be made more fair and representative. "Every time in a crisis situation, we witness the bitter truth. On the one hand, there is the UN General Assembly, reflecting the common mind and conscience of mankind, its decisions. On the other hand, there are five privileged countries that have the right to veto every decision taken in the Security Council. In every issue that is destined to remain unresolved for many years, five countries ignore the will of hundreds of States in the General Assembly, based on their own arbitrariness, their interests and priorities. When I say “the world is more than five”, I pay attention to this distorted structure. Everyone recognizes that the UN needs reform, but no steps are being taken to implement it. And the burden of an increasingly less functional UN system is usually borne by civilians in conflict zones and the oppressed, struggling with hunger, that is, people who most need the system to work. We will continue to call for this reform everywhere and at every opportunity," Erdogan said. He also noted that this topic will form the basis of his speech in the program “Summit of the Future".
"The Netanyahu government is trying in every way to spread the war to the region"
The Turkish President recalled that since October 7 last year, his country has been following the massacres in the Gaza Strip with pain in its heart.
According to Erdogan, two thirds of the more than 41,000 Gazan civilians killed in Israeli attacks are women and children.
"There is a humanitarian disaster in the full sense of the word in Gaza," the Turkish president said, "1.9 million people have lost their homes. 70% of water resources and 75% of bakeries in Gaza have been destroyed. 95% of medical facilities are partially or completely damaged. 150 thousand residential buildings were completely destroyed, 200 thousand were partially destroyed, 80 thousand became uninhabitable. Access to clean water is almost impossible. Diseases such as hepatitis, polio, dysentery have reached terrifying proportions."
Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that only a quarter of the aid that people urgently need is allowed to enter Gaza. They are trying to exterminate the local population not only with bombs, but also with hunger, lack of medicines and water.
The priority now is to ensure a sustainable ceasefire and an unhindered flow of humanitarian aid: "The Netanyahu government is trying to use all possible ways to expand the war at the regional level. At every opportunity, we say that this cannot be allowed. It is imperative that the international community step up pressure on Israel."
"Our fight against terrorist organizations is being waged for the sake of security not only of Turkey, but also of the entire region"
The Turkish leader noted that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has turned into a major humanitarian tragedy in front of the whole world. "From the very beginning of the fighting, we have been making efforts to achieve a just peace," he recalled. — The Istanbul talks confirmed the success of Turkey's active role, but some lobbies did not want these efforts to achieve their goal. In any case, we are doing and will do everything possible to end the military conflict without causing even greater destruction."
Erdogan recalled that together with Azerbaijan and Armenia, an opportunity for permanent peace and stability was achieved in the South Caucasus. Thanks to constructive diplomacy in the Balkans and initiatives to establish peace and stability in the Middle East, Turkey has strengthened its regional role, he added.
"By supporting the territorial integrity of our neighbors, Syria and Iraq, we are resolutely fighting all kinds of threats to our country from the territory of these two states. Our fight against terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the People's Self—Defense Units (YPG), ISIL*, the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) is aimed not only at ensuring the security of Turkey, but also the security of the entire region,“ the president said.
"Turkey is one of the strongest NATO allies"
"We are pleased with the positive atmosphere in Turkish-American relations recently," Erdogan said. He recalled that the last meeting of the strategic mechanism, at which relations between the two countries were comprehensively discussed, was held in Washington in March this year.
At this meeting, new consultation mechanisms were created, from the fight against terrorism to the defense industry, from energy to climate and environmental issues.
"Although our trade turnover exceeded $30 billion last year, we believe that we can increase this figure to $100 billion. We still have disagreements with the American leadership on some issues related to our national security. We always share with our American friends our expectations regarding the cessation of support provided by the PKK, PYD, YPG and FETÖ. The measures imposed against Turkey by America, our NATO ally, and restrictions on the defense industry have a negative impact on the sense of trust. It is also obvious that the sanctions under the law on Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions (CAATSA) and the exclusion of Turkey from the F-35 program contradict the spirit of alliance,“ Erdogan said.
He also said that he considers it advisable to consider applications for export licenses in the field of defense industry in the US Congress as soon as possible. The Turkish leader concluded his speech as follows: "We, like the rest of the world, are closely watching the presidential and congressional elections in the United States, which will be held on November 5. No matter who becomes president, our view of America and our high-level dialogue will not change. Turkey is one of the strongest NATO allies. At the same time, we are a country with the prospect of full membership in the European Union. While developing cooperation with the Western world, we do not forget about the East. We are determined to strengthen the basis for dialogue with organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and ASEAN. Recently, we have taken important steps in this regard and achieved a completely new atmosphere. We will continue to develop our cooperation with various regional organizations within the framework of an approach focused on Turkey and focused on the interests of our country."
* a terrorist organization, banned in the Russian Federation
The authors of the article: Zeynep Rakipoglu, Irem Demir, Mehmet Yusuf Melikoglu
