In its third edition, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) brought together the heads of state, ministers, policymakers, business leaders, diplomats, bureaucrats, academics, high-ranking military officers, think tankers, journalists, opinion leaders, youth and global observers to discuss the issues adversely affecting humanity under the broad theme of "Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil."
During the three-day diplomacy marathon in the coastal city of Antalya from March 1-3, conflicts between Palestine and Israel and Ukraine and Russia dominated discussions at the leaders’ talks, panel discussions and round table talks. Talks also explored innovative alternative solutions on a broader scale to the multiple global issues arising from armed conflicts, acts of terrorism, irregular migration, racism, xenophobia, climate change, artificial intelligence, natural disasters and socioeconomic disparities.
Fall of the global system
In a keynote speech, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan outlined the factors that are negatively affecting global peace, prosperity and security, highlighting the very urgent need for collective and cooperative efforts to overcome them.
In his speech, Erdoğan said: "The conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya and most recently Ukraine have shown us that the current global system has completely lost its functionality. In the crises erupting in our neighboring regions, international institutions and organizations, particularly the United Nations Security Council, have failed to take steps to stop the bloodshed, tears and destruction."
President Erdoğan, also emphasized that everyone has been following with aching hearts the barbarity and massacres in Gaza since Oct. 7.
Regarding the bloodshed in Gaza, Erdoğan said: "As a result of Israel's deliberate attacks targeting civilian settlements, up to now, more than 30,000 Gazans, mostly children and women, have been martyred. Over 70,000 Palestinians have been injured, and approximately 2 million people have been forced to flee their homes. I want to express a very clear and unequivocal point here: not only were children, women and civilians ruthlessly slaughtered in Gaza, but also the faith of billions of people in the international system, justice and law was destroyed. When it comes to Israel, we have all seen together how helpless and dysfunctional the structures that have been cited to us as examples for years, urging us to trust and rely on them, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Security Council, which is tasked with ensuring global peace, the European Union and international press organizations advocating impartiality."
Lavrov's messages
The unscheduled speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was another highlight of the event. His speech was quite important in terms of strategically formulated "between the lines" messages and the timing. Lavrov evaluated the particular comment made by French President Emmanuel Macron, who earlier voiced the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine.
Macron’s claims were quickly denied by the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany saying that the options declared by Macron were not on the table.
"French President Macron did not misspeak when he said this. After he made this statement, his subordinates immediately rushed to correct the impression it made on the world community and even on the European Union itself," Lavrov said.
"Macron's subordinate, the new Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne, began to say that he did not really mean that. On the other hand, as he said, it is possible to introduce troops there. However, they will not engage in combat, only train others. And, he said, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to a war with Russia although it remains a possibility. The desire to officially introduce troops there has been put on record. Unofficially, they are already there. Without these instructors, Ukraine's long-range weapons could not be used against Russian cities. We understand this perfectly well. There is plenty of evidence of this, and more and more new evidence is emerging," Lavrov continued.
In his speech, Lavrov also brought up and underlined that the Euro-Atlantic values are losing their prominence around the world, however, South Eastern Asia is the new locomotive of the world and gaining prominence. The audience perceived this particular remark by Lavrov as indicating that the fault lines of a re-polarizing world and the borders of a new world order are getting clearer day by day.
The ADF also hosted a multilateral MIKTA meeting, where delegations from Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Türkiye and Australia came together to further explore potential areas of cooperation in the field of Development Cooperation. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), with its counterparts, will play a pivotal role in the mutual development cooperation process.
Pre-Ramadan Gaza cease-fire
The ADF, hosting 4,700 people from 148 countries, concluded with a speech by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
In his closure speech, Fidan asserted that the issues currently and potentially affecting all of humanity were all being discussed at the forum at the highest scale. He emphasized the importance of "thinking together and acting together" for a more peaceful, prosperous and progressive world.
Fidan also highlighted Türkiye’s continuous diplomatic efforts to end the war that has caused the loss of many lives as well as the demolition of infrastructure and superstructures in both Ukraine and Gaza. Fidan concluded that as a combined effort they were very close to a cease-fire in Gaza before the beginning of Ramadan.