Highlights from Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan's statements in New York:
We were very happy to see once again that Turkey has become an actor whose contributions are sought and whose words are listened to carefully, thanks to the intense work and constructive approaches it has spent in resolving crises through regional initiatives it has pioneered.
In the coming period, we will continue to further strengthen the weight of our country in multilateral platforms, use all the possibilities of diplomacy, and build bridges between different actors. We leave New York with this understanding and determination.
"İSRAİL'İN ZULMÜ SONUÇSUZ KALMIYOR"
They had the opportunity to meet with our President, Mr. Trump and other countries. Two topics were mainly discussed here.
First, the difficulties and troubles that the Gaza Peace Plan, the process of which was initiated here last year, will face and Israel's unruliness on this issue. Secondly, the ongoing tension in the Gulf and the issue of what can be done regarding this tension came to the fore. Our President was there himself, that is, they presented Türkiye's regional peace vision and the related threat posed by the Israeli authorities, their vision and solution proposals for overcoming the problems in Gaza and also the blockages in the Strait of Hormuz.
As you stated, Israel's international isolation has become increasingly prevalent. Of course, masterful diplomacy plays a big role here. Here, transforming the feelings of the international community into applicable, visible protests, attitudes and results requires serious effort and work. It requires coordination. As Türkiye, we are making an intense effort together with our partners and allies, using all the possibilities of diplomacy on this issue. Frankly, we see the consequences of this. Of course, our goal is for the drama in Gaza to end as soon as possible, for the need for humanitarian aid there to increase, and for the Palestinians to not have to worry about the future. We are working with all our strength to ensure this. But we see that Israel's cruelty and massacre are no longer as fruitless as before, as a result of diplomatic efforts. In other words, he has to pay a very heavy price for every action he takes.
"ISRAEL IS FACED WITH SITUATIONS IT HAS NEVER ENCOUNTERED BEFORE"
This isolation seems to be facing legal sanctions here, of course, including the International Court of Justice and criminal courts. He encounters situations that he is not accustomed to or has never encountered before. This, as I have stated, is a result of the policy put forward by Türkiye, together with its allies, under the guidance of our President, which is human conscience-centered, takes universal values into account, and does not target or discriminate against too many people within the framework of principles.
Indeed, especially the nearly 200 nation states here are in need of this kind of foreign policy leadership on these issues. In other words, it is a political stance, a diplomatic initiative that encompasses everyone, respects common values, does not discriminate, and aims for peace. The fact that this is being done by Türkiye and its allies brings great results in the Palestine issue, thankfully.
MECCA ALLIANCE
We, as the Foreign Ministers of the Mecca Alliance, met in New York, as you stated. Here, a new one has been carried out, which has been continuing uninterruptedly since the beginning of the alliance process. As you know, the General Secretary regarding institutionalization is an important position. Our goal was to determine this within two weeks. Our Pakistani brothers made a candidate offer. So, most likely, this candidate will be accepted by the big countries and by us and will assume the position of Secretary General. I think that, following the start, the work on appointments to other positions will be completed.
On the other hand, of course, there are some ongoing military threats and developments in the region, especially targeting Saudi Arabia. Attacks from both the south and the north... We made general political assessments about the situation regarding these. Yesterday, as you know, there was a military technical evaluation meeting in Riyadh, attended by our President tomorrow. I also talked to him today. In other words, we also informed our President in order to harmonize both military technical issues and political perspective. Our work on translating the general vision he put forward into political policy and then into applicable military tactical issues continues well at all levels.
Our Armed Forces are really very professional, you know. They have the means and capabilities, and more importantly, the experience, to respond to all kinds of threats. Frankly, we are pleased with the work on this issue at the moment. Hopefully, we will continue our work to ensure a more conflict-free and peaceful environment.
GULF CRISIS AND ceasefire offer
I had the opportunity to hear him from an Iranian official once again. Later, we also had the opportunity to get some impressions of Americans' initial reactions to it. The good thing is that the efforts are continuing. But of course, the negative thing is that it has not yielded any results yet. Our request, and our President also told this to Mr. Trump on the phone, should be that we continue to work on diplomatic grounds without causing any conflict and without renewing the war.
Frankly, it is important that our other researchers and partners, who are primarily affected by this issue in the Gulf, both economically and in terms of war conditions, share the same view. We explained this very clearly to our Iranian friends in our meetings. So here Iran is in a really difficult situation; There are sanctions, there is a risk of war, there are attacks, there are attacks. But other than that, there are some attitudes that Iran shares in common. How can all of these be managed differently, how can we bring this quest to bear as soon as possible and how can the war be prevented from spreading to the region? We carried out a very comprehensive study on those issues. It was one of the important issues that occupied our agenda during the week we spent in New York.
LATEST SITUATION IN NORTH OF IRAQ AND SINJAR
We see with great pleasure that the Iraqi side has set a political goal to disarm all armed groups in the country. This is a vision we support. While doing this, it has set as its target the disarmament of the areas here, especially Sinjar, which are under the control of the PKK and related groups. Of course, Türkiye's military presence in Iraq, as you know, was previously centered on the fight against terrorism. When it was specifically put forward, it was opened upon the agreement delegation with Iraq for the purpose of combating terrorism.
Now, as this map of ending terrorism and armed groups put forward by Iraq comes into effect, Turkey will also be careful to gradually reduce and end its presence there, as I say regarding another apology. Our President made their will known when they spoke to the Iraqi Prime Minister. Hopefully, after the terrorist group's existence in Sinjar ends and disappears, we will of course take some steps.
