“We are all very clearly aware of the fact that today diplomacy is no longer just a field for negotiating problems, conflicts and interests. Diplomacy is also a basis for discussing the principles within which the common future of humanity will be shaped“. With these words, Turkish President Recep Erdogan opened the fifth Antalya Diplomaty Forum. Over 5,000 diplomats from all over the world are participating in this year's edition. The emphasis is on Africa, and the motto: “Let's draw tomorrow, let's manage uncertainty.
The goal of the forum is to create a global platform for measuring the pulse of diplomacy, and today it has already become a global reason, a global conscience and, above all, hope for the future.
“Yes, the distribution of power is changing. Yes, new participants are emerging. Yes, competition is intensifying, deepening and becoming more destructive. However, all this does not change the fact that we are facing a much more serious rift“, the Turkish president admits.
„Today, the world is experiencing a crisis of direction, along with a crisis of power. It seems that we are at a serious and dangerous crossroads. The system that claims to be based on rules is silent when the rules are violated, while the mechanisms charged with protecting human rights and global security remain ineffective and often indifferent in the face of the most serious attacks“, the Turkish president added.
Gaza Strip
The main problem, according to him, is selective justice, instrumentalized principles and our shared values condemned to power relations. The scale of the crisis today is enormous, if we look at the figures of the dead and injured. Since October 7, 73,000 Palestinians have lost their lives in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. The number of injured exceeds 172,000. The number of children killed exceeds 21,000, and the number of orphans and abandoned children is over 58,000. Despite the ceasefire, 754 Palestinians have been killed and 2,100 have been injured.
„Interpreting what is happening in Gaza solely as a humanitarian tragedy is insufficient. The genocide in Gaza has clearly shown us what the current system allows, what it ignores and whom it protects,” Erdogan is categorical, adding: “If a system cannot protect innocent babies in incubators from bullets, if it cannot prevent mass attacks on civilians, if institutions and rules cannot prevent the cruelty of tyrants, is this not structural breakdown, ontological corruption? Is this not the most blatant manifestation of a moral and legitimate crisis?”
Strait of Hormuz
If one side of the Strait of Hormuz is Iran, the other is Oman. The right of the Gulf states to have access to the high seas should not be restricted. “The basic principle is to ensure freedom of navigation based on established rules and to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial ships“, Erdogan said.
The war is accelerating the search for alternative routes for supplying energy resources from neighboring regions to international markets. Turkey is open to cooperating with its neighbors through visionary projects, such as the energy and connectivity development path.
The War in Ukraine
„We are saddened by the destruction and loss of life caused by the war in Ukraine, another conflict zone in our immediate vicinity. We still believe that the war will end through a negotiation process in which the parties are fairly and equally represented“, the Turkish president believes.
The priority for Turkey remains the strengthening of peace, stability and prosperity. “We are extremely hopeful about the Balkan Peace Platform that we have implemented with this in mind. On the other hand, we are strengthening our Organization of Turkic States, which we see as a guarantee of peace and tranquility in Eurasia, day by day“, the Turkish president said.
Erdogan recalled that in the last quarter of this year, our southern neighbor will take over the presidency from Azerbaijan at the 13th Turkic World Summit.
European Union
“As history, geography and geopolitics remind us at every opportunity, Turkey is an integral part of Europe. The common challenges we face today have once again demonstrated the strategic value of our partnership with Europe. While maintaining our goal of full membership in the European Union, we expect the Union to overcome its problems with direction and faithfully uphold the vision of its founding leaders,” Erdogan hopes.
In November 2027, Turkey will host the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change here.
“Throughout history, peace, stability and justice have been achieved not only through force but also through solidarity. As the great thinker Ibn Khaldun pointed out, what sustains a society is a sense of unity, the awareness of a shared destiny and solidarity - the awareness of a shared goal. As people of conscience, the more we strengthen the front of peace and humanity against the front of war and genocide, the more securely we can look to our future. Therefore, today the question is not only about building new institutions, systems or orders; the real question is to establish a new basis of solidarity“, concluded Turkish President Erdogan.