Türkiye has always expressed its commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and political unity since Crimea's annexation in 2014, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday.
Speaking to reporters at the Turkish House (Türkevi) center in New York, Erdoğan said the prisoner swap carried out by Russia and Ukraine, involving almost 300 people and mediated by Türkiye, was an important step toward ending the war.
Among those swapped, five senior Ukrainian commanders have arrived in Türkiye, where they will remain until the end of the war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailing them as "superheroes."
Erdoğan said that the exchange occurred as a result of the diplomatic traffic that he conducted with Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Türkiye has now received the result of its belief in the power of dialogue and diplomacy," he said.
NATO member Türkiye has close ties with both Russia and Ukraine and has sought to balance relations through the war, rejecting Western sanctions on Moscow while also criticizing the Russian invasion and supplying Kyiv with armed drones.
"We will continue our efforts to achieve peace and stability in the future. For example, as soon as we return, we will call the leaders again and continue our telephone diplomacy with them," he added.
He added that the U.N. should take initiative and make more efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
"Unfortunately, the U.N. could not end the war, could not stop the bloodshed, nor could it find a solution to the energy and food crises that emerged as a result of the war. The efforts of U.N. Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) to establish the grain corridor on this issue have somewhat reassured the U.N., but there is no doubt that more efforts should be made to end the war," ErdoğFan said.
Türkiye, the U.N., Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to restart grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.
Ankara's "only aim" is to end the bloodshed and establish peace since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February, Erdoğan said, adding: "We have always expressed our commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and political unity since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia war, we have emphasized that the steps taken by Russia at this point are unfair and unacceptable."
Erdoğan said Türkiye is in favor of diplomacy to resolve crises and outstanding issues.
'Lesson in humanity'
Erdoğan said he had the opportunity to support his speech at the U.N. General Assembly with various visuals.
"One of the photographs I showed was the dead body of baby Asim, who was 9 months old, and 4-year-old Abdulvahab, who lost their lives after Greek coast guards sunk their boats," he added.
During his address on Tuesday, Erdoğan called out Greece for its "persecution" of migrants in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, saying: "Greece is turning the Aegean Sea into a graveyard for refugees with its unlawful and reckless pushbacks."
Erdoğan said it is impossible to not be moved after seeing those painful photos.
"We wanted to teach the world a lesson in humanity by showing the photos of the dead bodies of these babies, and I believe we have taught this lesson in humanity."
Ankara and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece's illegal practice of pushing asylum-seekers back into Turkish waters and denying them entry, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.
Need for change of U.N. structure
Turning to reform of the U.N. Security Council amid ongoing deadlocks on key issues, Erdoğan said U.S. President Joe Biden's statement about the U.N. Security Council paralleled Türkiye's points on the issue.
Biden voiced support for expanding the body's membership, saying permanent seats should be granted to nations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
"They say: 'Let's both increase the permanent members and increase the temporary members. But of course, I am not at the same point. I say it should not be 'permanent and temporary' ... and it is necessary to introduce a fully rotating membership system," Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan said the "hands up, hands up" system of the U.N. must end to generate solutions for a fairer world order, where all the member countries have a say.
The president always states that Türkiye will continue to reiterate on every platform that "the world is bigger than five" and "a fairer world is possible."
F-16 sale talks 'going on positively'
Regarding the U.S. sale of F-16 jets to Ankara, Erdoğan said the talks are "going on positively."
"We hope that this positive atmosphere will continue. I think we will get a result from this as soon as possible. Of course, we did not have the opportunity to discuss the issue in detail with Biden at the reception. Later, we may have the opportunity to discuss these issues via telephone diplomacy," he added.
Ankara requested the F-16s and modernization kits last October. The $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 F-16 jets and modernization kits for 79 warplanes that the Turkish Air Force has in its inventory.
In July, however, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation creating a new hurdle for the sale.
It prohibits the sale unless Biden certifies that the transfer is in U.S. national interests and guarantees Congress that in the 120 days prior to the transfer, the Turkish government has not "violated the sovereignty of Greece, including through territorial overflights."
Türkiye, for its part, has made it clear that Greece-related conditions are not "binding" and expressed hope that the U.S. would not fall for such "games."
Erdoğan could meet with Armenia's PM in Prague
Erdoğan said U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's remarks in Armenia cannot ax developments in the Caucasus.
Pelosi on Sunday condemned Azerbaijan for what she described as "illegal" border attacks on Armenia and pledged U.S. support for Armenia's sovereignty.
The president hinted at a possible meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in the Czech capital Prague, where the European Political Community Summit will be held on Oct. 6-7.
"There is the European Political Community Summit in Prague. We are currently evaluating whether to attend the summit or not. If we attend the summit, Pashinian might come there. I guess he thought, 'Can we meet there?' Maybe we can have a conversation about these issues with him there," Erdoğan said.
He added that Türkiye will take steps in the Caucasus with Azerbaijan.
Greece continues 'oppressive policies' against Muslim Turkish minority
About a question regarding the remarks of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias who "called on Türkiye to answer why the Greek minority in Istanbul once numbered 100,000 decreased to less than 5,000 people," Erdogan said: "I don't have much to say about the Greek foreign minister, he is not my interlocutor. If he is going to talk, let him talk with (Foreign Minister Mevlüt) Çavuşoğlu."
Ankara did not expel any Greeks from Türkiye during our tenure, Erdogan said, adding that his government does not want a reduction of the Greek population in the country.
"For example, when I traveled to Bozcaada or Gokceada, I always asked our very few Greek citizens living there; 'Where are your children?' They said: In America. I said: Bring them to live here. They said: I can't bring my child from America.' What does this show? It means that they have no desire to live in Türkiye. Our door is always open.
"We would give citizenship to that child if he did not have citizenship. In fact, once a family did not allow someone to marry a Turkish girl. I said: 'If you ask me for help, I will try,'" he added.
Erdoğan said Greece continues to pursue "oppressive policies" against the Muslim Turkish minority.
'Türkiye would be pleased if direct flights from Russia to Northern Cyprus begin'
During his speech at the U.N., Erdoğan urged the international community to make efforts to end the oppression of Turkish Cypriots and to officially recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as soon as possible.
Erdoğan said he discussed the TRNC issue with Putin, saying: "We reiterated our rightful struggle in Cyprus and the just and lasting resolution of the issue to all the leaders we hosted in our country or visited."
Russia newly appointed Murat Zyazikov as its ambassador to Southern Cyprus, a move which was seen as a sign of Putin's goodwill towards Erdoğan and TRNC President Ersin Tatar.
"Of course, we would be pleased if direct flights from Russia to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus begin. Another very important aspect of this is: As you know, the tourist potential of Russia is very high," Erdoğan said.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.