Türkiye led, supported all meetings on Palestine at UN General Assembly, says foreign minister

Türkiye has led, coordinated or supported all meetings on Palestine at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday.

Ankara defended the Palestinian cause in the strongest possible terms, Fidan told reporters at Turkish House (Turkevi) in New York.

The Palestinian issue and the situation in Gaza were "the most important agenda item of this general assembly week," he said.

Stressing that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the intellectual initiator of the Gaza Strip meeting, which brought together the leaders of eight Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, along with US President Donald Trump, Fidan said: "In this meeting, as a group of countries with a Muslim population of nearly 800 million, we clearly conveyed to President Trump our expectations regarding Gaza.

"We stated that a ceasefire in Gaza must be achieved immediately and that it is essential to deliver humanitarian aid to the region.

"We collectively emphasized that Israel's annexation of the West Bank is completely unacceptable and that we oppose any attempt to force the people of Gaza to flee their homeland," he said.

Expressing hope that a positive momentum would be generated on the issues they raised, the Turkish foreign minister said there are initial signs of it happening.

Fidan called the declaration by some Western countries of their recognition of the State of Palestine during and immediately before the General Assembly a "highly significant development."

"This outcome is also a concrete outcome of our work as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation-Arab League Joint Contact Group. We will always continue to defend the just cause of the Palestinians on every platform," he emphasized.

Stressing the importance of the Gaza meeting, Fidan highlighted: "Next week, the Israeli prime minister will also visit Washington. It is important for us that America plays a central role in all of this and wields its influence over Israel.

"To bring the US to this point, the diplomatic procedure, strategy, and relationship steps needed to be carefully calculated and implemented, one by one."

Emphasizing that current priorities are achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, stopping the civilian massacre and ensuring the arrival of humanitarian aid as soon as possible," the Turkish foreign minister said work is underway on a paper that prioritizes a ceasefire agreement and addresses other issues in parallel.

"We have made our contributions as relevant countries. Negotiations are ongoing.

"We will continue to do everything in our power, using all our creativity and strength, on this path," he stated.

Noting that a "record number of countries" have now recognized the State of Palestine, Fidan underscored that Türkiye aims to stop the "historical oppression" against the Palestinian people.

When asked about Türkiye's stance on a post-conflict reconstruction plan for Gaza, prepared by the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), founded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Fidan said his country has not yet received anything clear and concrete, such as a "Blair Plan."

Saying that Türkiye has not been involved in such a plan, Fidan said Ankara is only involved in efforts on a ceasefire that Washington can also accept, and a framework plan for healing the wounds in Gaza, adding that negotiations on the issue are ongoing.

The Palestinian and Israeli sides must also accept this, Fidan stressed. "We will use our influence with the Palestinians. The Americans will use their influence with Israel to implement this through this mechanism."

"Tony Blair may be given a role, especially in organizing international aid at some point; that's a separate issue, but what we, as the Contact Group countries, are sensitively focusing on is that after a possible ceasefire agreement, Gaza will once again be administered by the Palestinians themselves," he noted.

- Erdogan-Trump meeting, Türkiye-US ties

Erdogan's visits to New York and Washington were extremely productive in terms of Ankara's contacts within the UN framework and relations with Washington, Fidan underlined.

Regarding the meeting between Erdogan and Trump in Washington, Fidan said they discussed regional and global issues, adding that Erdogan raised the Palestinian issue and highlighted important issues for Türkiye.

The primary issue among the issues was the swift establishment of a ceasefire in Gaza, and Erdogan also highlighted the risks posed by Israel's expansionist policies in the region, Fidan stated.

On Syria, he added that "both countries agree that Syria's territorial integrity and political unity must be preserved."

The two leaders also discussed joint steps that could be taken to end the Russo-Ukrainian war and the increased coordination between Türkiye and the US within NATO, the Turkish foreign minister highlighted.

He said Erdogan invited Trump to Türkiye for a visit and as part of a NATO summit to be held in Ankara next year, Fidan added.

The parties also reached an agreement that "issues such as CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) sanctions, which hinder our further strengthening of relations, must be resolved," he emphasized.

Potential steps in the defense industry were being discussed, Fidan said. "We will work on concrete projects to advance economic and commercial relations in a balanced manner and reach a trade volume of $100 billion."

"At the end of our visit, we saw that both countries want to further advance their cooperation based on mutual respect," Fidan stressed, highlighting that Erdogan and Trump share a common will in that direction.

- Existence of legal restrictions between two NATO countries 'major problem'

On the CAATSA sanctions imposed by the US against Türkiye, Fidan said the existence of a legal restriction between two NATO allies that prevents them from receiving anything from each other is a "major systemic problem."

Stating that technical issues related to the F-35 fighter jets and the KAAN National Combat Aircraft are awaiting in the US Congress, he added: "The systemic limitations in our relationship with the US will inevitably push us to pursue different approaches in the international system.

"We are already developing our own capabilities," Fidan said, while stressing that no country is self-sufficient with its own capabilities and the countries, therefore, are required to have an alliance culture and a defense industry ecosystem.

Fidan said at a meeting he attended, US officials requested that the technologies produced by Turkish defense firm, Baykar, could serve as a production area for the US, adding that the CAATSA issue was not unilateral but was now evolving into a bilateral one, following Türkiye's development of its own capabilities.

The presidents of both countries have a determination to settle all disagreements in relations, said Türkiye's foreign minister.

- Syria 'important' for region, Türkiye's security

Issues pertaining to Syria are important for regional security and Türkiye's security, Fidan stated.

Millions of Syrians are still living outside Syria as "refugees," and for that to end, Syria must achieve lasting stability and send strong signals, he noted.

Saying that there is a new perception of a threat in the region, particularly in Syria, that began with Israeli attacks, Fidan said Syria has its own unique problems and threats to its social integrity, noting that it suffers from infrastructure and economic difficulties inherited from the era of the Bashar Assad regime, as well as the devastation left by the civil war.

Türkiye, other regional countries, the EU and the US quickly reached a consensus to support the new administration in Syria and heal Syria's wounds, and unity of action had already begun, he stressed, noting that at this point, Israel's attacks began to change the equation.

"How can this be resolved? Efforts to address this are ongoing. Our Syrian brothers and sisters are holding discussions on this matter, and we are providing support. We are holding discussions, and we are raising this issue very frequently with the Americans.

"We are holding discussions with regional countries. This is a crucial issue. We are striving to resolve this through the most appropriate diplomatic means possible," he said.

Framework issues related to the potential and existing threat posed by the PKK/YPG terror organization, which uses the name, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are constantly on the agenda, Fidan noted, stating that the group is being continuously monitored bilaterally and trilaterally.

The negotiation processes between the Syrian government and the SDF are being closely monitored, he highlighted, noting that the US has assessments and guidance regarding its evolving views and role on the matter.

- Türkiye ready to do what is necessary in Syria

Türkiye's goal is to see the creation of an environment where its national security is not threatened, where no minority or majority group, including the Kurdish people in Syria, sees itself under threat, Fidan stated.

He said Ankara is "ready to provide and take whatever political framework, economic contribution, institutional capacity, military and security measures are necessary for this."

"It is ready to do this not unilaterally, but together with its partners and stakeholders in the region," added Fidan.