Türkiye’s aim is to end the Russia-Ukraine war through diplomacy, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

"We are working to end the conflicts in Ukraine through diplomacy and we are making every effort to ensure peace in our region and beyond," Erdoğan said during the SCO, which he attended as a special guest, in a well-attended session that also included observer members and special guest delegation heads.

"We carry out efficient cooperation with the United Nations and parties at the point of shipment of Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea. We also make sincere efforts to deliver grain to those who need it most, especially to our brothers in Africa," Erdoğan said.

Earlier Friday, Erdoğan held bilateral meetings with some leaders within the scope of the summit. On the sidelines, Erdoğan held a closed-door meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh.

Erdoğan also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit. The two leaders discussed the Ukraine grain deal, the Syria crisis as well as bilateral ties.

Expressing his satisfaction about attending the summit, Erdoğan thanked Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev for his invitation and expressed his gratitude for the hospitality shown to him in Uzbekistan. Erdoğan also congratulated Iran, which has just been accepted as a member of the SCO.

‘Türkiye has a unique location’

Expressing that Türkiye "has a unique location as the westernmost Asian and the easternmost European" country, Erdoğan said that it has human, cultural and political ties with Asia dating back thousands of years.

"With our Asia Anew Initiative, which we announced in 2019, we are trying to strengthen our relations with our ancestral homeland, Asia, in all areas," Erdoğan said. He also stated that they see the SCO as the present representative of Asia’s climate of tolerance and its ancient culture based on the understanding of finding common solutions to problems. He noted that they attach importance to developing relations with the organization.

"Thanks to our ‘dialogue partner’ status that we have had for the last 10 years, this place has become one of our windows to Asia. We assumed the term presidency of the energy club senior group of the organization in 2017. We held the 3rd high-level group meeting in this context in Ankara. It was a first for the organization to carry out a task. The responsibility we assume has also shown how much the relations between the organization and Türkiye have developed. I believe that we will further increase our cooperation with our joint efforts from now on," Erdoğan said.

‘We are facing difficulties’

Pointing out that this is an era in which problems are globalized along with opportunities, Erdoğan said that countries are facing difficulties such as climate change, epidemics, energy and food supply security, terrorism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, racism, irregular migration, economic recession and disruptions in supply chains.

Erdoğan emphasized that these difficulties can only be overcome with global cooperation and solution understanding.

"While we should have been more united in this age, unfortunately, some countries did not want this. The most recent and painful example of this was the coronavirus epidemic. In this global epidemic, which reminds us once again that we are all in the same boat, unfortunately, international organizations and developed countries could not manage the process. As Türkiye, we have provided assistance to 161 countries and 12 international organizations within the scope of the fight against the coronavirus."

"We rank first in the world in terms of our humanitarian aid ratio to national income with more than $8 billion. We are proud to be the most generous country in the world by allocating approximately 1% of our gross national income to humanitarian aid," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan reiterated his call to restructure global governance, saying that his famous motto, "The world is bigger than five," draws attention to the fact that the order established after World War II lost its ability to resolve crises.

Emphasizing the need for reform of the global system, Erdoğan stated that they are working for a fairer, more representative, inclusive and effective order and said: "While doing this, we are making every effort to ensure peace, security, stability and prosperity in our region and beyond. Our aim is human and humanitarian values. It is to ensure peace in our region and beyond with an entrepreneurial diplomacy approach."

‘Terrorism knows no bounds at global level’

Emphasizing that terrorism, unfortunately, knows no bounds at the global level and affects all states negatively, Erdoğan said: "Türkiye is a country that has lost thousands of its citizens to terrorist organizations and knows and recognizes the bloody face of terrorism very well. Although we are often left alone in our 40-year fight against terrorism, we are resolutely continuing our fight against all forms and manifestations of terrorism. We are ready to further strengthen our dialogue with the SCO on matters concerning our common security."

Stating that ensuring continuity in supply chains constitutes an important dimension of security, Erdoğan said, "We support efforts towards global food security, especially our initiatives in the G-20 lane."

Expressing that the importance of strengthening the ties between east and west in terms of continuity in global supply chains is understood more today, Erdoğan said: "It is obvious that the initiative we call the Middle Corridor plays a major role in the establishment of prosperity and stability in our region and beyond, where it acts as an important artery for the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the People’s Republic of China. Türkiye has achieved very important success in this field with its huge transportation and infrastructure investments in the last 20 years. Our country’s position as a bridge between the east and the west offers us unprecedented opportunities. With this understanding, we are ready for cooperation in every field from security to the economy, from energy to transportation, and from agriculture to tourism. We will continue to contribute to the ongoing political and economic processes within the SCO."

It was the first time that Türkiye has participated in the summit meetings at the presidential level since 2012 when Türkiye obtained the "dialogue partner" status at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

On Thursday, Erdoğan visited the historic Hazrat Khizr Mosque and Tomb. He then attended a sapling planting event with leaders of countries attending summit and toured the newly built areas of the city.

After his visit to Uzbekistan, the president will fly to New York, U.S. to attend the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly, a statement from the Presidency said Wednesday.

He will address the General Assembly on Sept. 20, 2022, and will also meet with U.N. chief Antonio Guterres, as well as several heads of state.

The president is also expected to meet with representatives of Turkish nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), business organizations and Jewish organizations in the U.S.