President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been engaged in a week of busy diplomacy in New York as part of the 78th United Nations General Assembly and has given his 13th speech at the body with significant messages that concern the current challenges of the globe.
In fact, Erdoğan’s 13 speeches, the first of which he made in 2005 as prime minister of Türkiye, have been fairly consistent and even a repetition of his most overriding messages – namely a U.N. reform, the fight against terrorism, Karabakh and Syria. Yet what changed this year is that ever more countries started to think and voice similar concerns as to those that had been called out by Türkiye for years. The global agenda somewhat began to synchronize with the calls of Ankara.
The General Assembly in this session increasingly expressed and questioned the influence and relevance of the U.N. as global stability has been disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and caused drawbacks to food security. This has been reflected in the speeches of leading heads of state and speakers of the 78th session. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres drew attention that the globe is moving toward a multipolar world, which needs "strong and effective multilateral institutions" and said that institutions such as the U.N. Security Council and the Bretton Woods system reflect the realities of 1945 when many countries currently represented under the U.N. were still nonexistent or under colonial control. "The world has changed. Our institutions have not," he underlined. The voice of Africa and chairperson of the African Union (AU) of 55 members, Azali Assoumani similarly called for an "in-depth reform of the United Nations system."
"Africa – where 3.8 billion people will live by the end of the century – has the right to be permanently represented," he said. But also voices from the West – not part of the five permanent Security Council members that boast veto power – have touched upon the issue. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the composition of the Security Council is the most obvious example of how the organization does not currently represent the reality of a multipolar world, stressing that Africa, Asia and Latin America deserve greater representation.
Apart from the question about U.N. reform, Erdoğan referred to nine more talking points that comprise the priorities of Turkish policy. The president for the first time mentioned the family institution and the need to preserve it in his U.N. speech as well as rising Islamophobia, racism and attacks on holy values, development and climate change, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the situation in Libya, the need for a solution to the Palestine question and its vitality for peace in the wider Middle Eastern region, ongoing instabilities in Iraq, Syria as well as fighting terrorism there, an emphasis that Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan and lastly a call for the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to achieve cooperation and peace in the Eastern Mediterranean.
As synchronization could be seen between the views of Türkiye and other countries on change within the U.N., Ankara's argument of keeping dialogue channels with Russia open to find a solution to the war and its side effects is also seeing greater acknowledgment. The world has seen that through the collapse of the grain deal, ignoring Russia and its perspective is leading nowhere. Therefore, Türkiye, while underlining Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity, said it would continue dialogue with all sides.
On the issue of Karabakh, which saw renewed tensions throughout the General Assembly, Erdoğan had already emphasized in his previous addresses to the U.N. that the Karabakh issue cannot remain unsolved as a frozen conflict waiting to erupt and had called on the body's members for a solution that would recognize these territories as those of Azerbaijan. However, it was only after Ankara and Baku stepped up their efforts in 2020 that the unfair status quo was broken and now as a result the region has the chance after decades to enter into a new period that will result in greater harmony in the South Caucasus, increased regional cooperation and trade as well as development for Karabakh's residents whether Armenian or Azerbaijani.
Another constant issue brought up by Erdoğan is the recognition of the TRNC, the lack of which is causing ongoing troubles on questions as to how to share energy resources and sea borders in the Eastern Mediterranean. Here, too, opinions are changing and the need for a revival of talks between the two sides on the island is recognized. Although more ground has to be covered still, recently, a former U.K. foreign secretary has advocated a two-state solution as a key alternative in finding a settlement, while the Greek Cypriot administration called on the U.N. to revive talks, saying, "It is high time for the United Nations to become a driving force of dialogue by appointing as a first step an envoy on the Cyprus problem to explore and prepare the ground for the resumption of negotiations." If a common understanding of the applicability of a two-state solution could be achieved with the Greek Cypriots and the European Union, both communities would benefit from a more harmonious and constructive relationship than that of current rivalry, further contributing to their development.
New Normal
Another distinct aspect of this year’s General Assembly for Türkiye was the reflection of the past few years’ diplomatic normalization drives. Erdoğan met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and confirmed a road map for the concretization of a positive agenda. Coming together with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the two leaders decided to continue advancing bilateral relations in trade, economic matters and energy while also discussing normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, Türkiye’s top diplomat Hakan Fidan also engaged in bilateral meetings with his counterparts, including Egypt.
The drive for regional normalization in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean affects not only for Türkiye but also other neighbors. Driven by a lesser U.S. presence sped up by its catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, a pandemic that resulted both in human losses and grave economic and trade consequences as well as rising global challenges, countries in the region reached the understanding that regional cooperation is key in the face of the technical changes globally.
Ankara, too, has therefore been advocating for increased regional trade routes, hand-in-hand development, expanded energy cooperation and diplomatic synchronization for a common answer to common problems.