Türkiye has been the most active country in the political process in the Russia-Ukraine war, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said when he met with Turkish citizens living in the region at the Turkish Consulate in Strasbourg on Sunday, where he came to attend the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE).
In his speech there, he stated that developments such as the COVID-19 epidemic, climate change and the Russia-Ukraine war, all occurring within the past three years, have affected everyone, and mentioned the increasing importance of Türkiye in the international arena. He also said that they are pleased that the Turkish community is involved in every area of France.
"We opened the consulate general and permanent representation together here in 2019. I am a brother of yours who has served here for many years and I know Strasbourg well. I chaired the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for two years," Çavuşoğlu said.
Çavuşoğlu emphasized that Türkiye continues to protect its national rights and law consistently in its region.
"We are responsible for protecting our rights, from Syria to Libya, from the Aegean to the Mediterranean. Contributing to the resolution of regional and global crises, peace and prosperity are some of our goals. We support peace and stability, from Afghanistan to Libya, and from Ukraine to Somalia. We also say that there is no other country that uses this role more actively than Türkiye," Çavuşoğlu said.
He underlined that Türkiye was the most active country in the political process in the Russia-Ukraine war, pointing out, "Türkiye has made the most effort and taken concrete steps to establish a cease-fire."
Stating that Türkiye also played an active role in the prisoner exchange in Ukraine and the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Çavuşoğlu stated that the international community wants Türkiye to continue this role.
"We want stability in the region. After Azerbaijan's victory in normalization with Armenia, an opportunity arose. There was a standoff with the United Arab Emirates, we are making up for it. The normalization process with Egypt and Israel continues, but the normalization of our relations with Israel cannot come at the expense of the Palestinian cause," the top diplomat said.
Çavuşoğlu also noted that the Foreign Ministry is preparing a report on events involving Islamophobia and xenophobia and pointed out that Turks living abroad should organize more.
"When it comes to Türkiye, we need to show this unity a little more. We established the Turkish American steering committee in the U.S. They started very effective works to counter the slander of the Armenian diaspora against our country. We will do our best to strengthen this organization in Europe. We can be more effective in politics in France, unfortunately, there is an Armenian diaspora here, and a part of this Armenian diaspora is not well-intentioned. They also oppose the normalization between Türkiye and Armenia, between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We are talking about a diaspora with a hostile attitude toward establishing good relations. We expect you to react against this diaspora," Çavuşoğlu said.
Regarding Türkiye-France relations, Çavuşoğlu criticized French President Emmanuel Macron's anti-Türkiye rhetoric and stated that the presence of the PKK terrorist organization in France is unacceptable.
Çavuşoğlu shared the information that France wanted to initiate consultations with Türkiye in Africa despite its anti-Türkiye rhetoric, and stated that the first consultation meeting between the two countries on Africa was held in Türkiye.
Noting that the Turkish world has also increased its effectiveness under the leadership of Türkiye, Çavuşoğlu reiterated that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will obtain observer membership status in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in November.
Later, Çavuşoğlu participated in a meeting of the PACE in Strasbourg, France on Sunday.
"Discussed our actions against common challenges and the future of Europe as Presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe," Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.
He also held separate talks with members of the Turkish delegation of the PACE.