Ay made a statement to the AA correspondent regarding the 9th Istanbul Mediation Conference, which will be held on 23-24 October with the theme "Partnerships for Peace and New Perspectives: Mediation in a Changing World".
Stating that the Istanbul Mediation Conference has been held since 2012, Ay said that the theme of the conference, which will be held for the 9th time this year, "Partnerships for Peace and New Perspectives: Mediation in a Changing World" was determined according to the needs on the world agenda.
Reminding that Türkiye started the "Mediation for Peace" initiative with Finland in 2010, Ay said, "At that time, these needs were slowly coming to us, but in the intervening period, the diversity of needs and difficulties began to increase." he said.
Ay noted that one of the main reasons for this is that the world system, which developed with the Cold War following the Second World War, is now experiencing a process of adaptation to the new world.
Pointing out that there were certain ruptures and that this returned as tension, crisis and war, Ay stated that with each Mediation Conference held since 2012, the agenda was captured and efforts were made to look forward.
Ay continued as follows:
"At the point we have reached today, we are living in a period in history where conflicts, armed conflicts, tensions and crises are the most numerous. Especially when we take into account our own geography and our own foreign policy, we are a country that aims for stability, peace and economic development together. While doing this, we do not only mean 'let's cooperate and prosper'. At the same time, we have very solid principles that we constantly emphasize without hesitation. Among these, first of all, there is justice, a more just order."
Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's principle of "standing with the oppressed", Ay said that this inevitably leads to a just peace.
Ay stated that for the last 20 years, in Turkish foreign policy, a stance has been taken by uniting the parties towards humanitarian, peace and stability, and said, "At the point we have reached today, Türkiye's attitude in this direction is accepted by the entire international community." he said.
Stating that many experts and academicians will attend the conference, Ay said that the program will discuss issues on how to achieve peace sustainably with partners who know Türkiye's basic principles.
Mentioning that there are different types of crises and conflicts of different intensities in the region, Ay said that there are geographies that Türkiye is obliged to deal with, especially the Russia-Ukraine War.
Ay pointed out that there are tensions and crises that Türkiye needs to deal with, including the Horn of Africa, and emphasized that conflicts and tensions in many corners of the world will continue to be studied, especially in this conference.
Stating that the associations that will have an impact on the regions in question will be investigated at the conference, Ay said:
"We will try to establish both principles and new alliances. When we say new alliances, we are a country that believes in the importance of the United Nations. While we believe in the importance of the United Nations, we are a country that wants the United Nations to be reformed in line with the new realities of the world. We are a country that wholeheartedly believes in the importance of this. We do not disparage the United Nations with what our President has been saying for years, 'The world is bigger than five', we are asking how it can be better, how it can have a more fair impact."
Ay said that there is a set of principles and at the same time, there are other actors with different interests in different geographies.
Pointing out that communication and cooperation with the actors in question should be improved, Ay noted that this could contribute to peace and stability in the region.
Reminding that there were global powers and polarizations, especially during the Cold War, Ay said, "Now, naturally, we are out of this. As our Minister and our President always say, we are a country that believes in finding solutions to problems by the countries concerned, the countries directly affected, and the countries that experience this, but in this case, we believe that these solutions can be sustainable and in the long term." he said.
Pointing out that this is simply called "regional ownership", Ay explained that the important thing is to support the countries directly affected by the problems and to support them in continuing their solutions and coexistence on the basis of the orders and principles they will establish themselves.
Underlining that the work is progressing in this direction, Ay said that at the conference, what can be done both in the crises in the nearby geography that Türkiye is currently dealing with and in similar crises were discussed together.
Stating that there are crises in which Türkiye plays an important role in the field of mediation, from the Philippines to Latin America, Ay said, "What is important for us is to develop our relations at the global level, to provide training to countries or groups of countries that desire it. Therefore, to be able to talk together about what can be done to the problems they encounter or are likely to encounter." he said.
Ay emphasized that mediation also covers "mediation in preventing conflicts, facilitation, stopping and terminating conflicts and building peace, building a sustainable peace" and stated that Türkiye is an advantageous country in terms of trust.
The Ambassador underlined that it becomes difficult to contribute to the solution if you do not have the trust of the countries or people in the crisis and said:
"One of Türkiye's biggest advantages is that the countries and peoples we deal with trust us. This is a trust that is achieved not only through, for example, religious unity, national unity, and neighbourliness, but through consistency, openness, sincerity, and constructiveness. Therefore, this is our first advantage. Our second advantage is that, compared to many countries, our political leaders give us very clear and direct support in mediation. If necessary, they go to the field without hesitation, and therefore we have the chance to show our chance of success and sincerity with the highest political will. Such techniques "We can easily go beyond the work done by diplomats, once it is politically appreciated, this is a great advantage."
Pointing out that another advantage Türkiye has in mediation is "geography", Ay said that many civilizations live together in this geography.
Underlining that Türkiye is trying to use these advantages as much as possible, Ay stated that Istanbul has become an important position in mediation and is a center where meetings are held to resolve global disputes.
Stating that this is not just in a physical sense, Ay made the following evaluation:
"Istanbul has a psychological position, it has a unifying position. We call it a bridge, but it has a position beyond the bridge. Istanbul is a city that connects the north with the south and the east with the west. In this sense, Istanbul is the city of a friendly, trusted country that is open to all kinds of support. Istanbul is a city of political will. In this case, our interlocutors sometimes come with us, sometimes independently of us, and meet in Istanbul. We are both an important center of the United Nations and a place where negotiations can be held easily. We have created the city."
