Turkey emerges as hub of reconciliation, mediation and interactions during Antalya Diplomacy Forum
ISTANBUL – With recent high-profile policy meetings, reconciliatory moves and interactions between allies, partners and rival countries, Turkey has emerged as the hub of the world political and geostrategic centre.
This past week, witnessed several positive developments were seen as Antalya Diplomatic Conference was held March 11-13, thanks to the efforts of Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan and his skilled team foreign policy team led by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Russia, Ukraine foreign minister in Antalya
The most exciting breakthrough was the fact that Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart met for the first time face to face with Turkish mediation efforts. Turkish FM also held separate meetings with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts and urged both sides to protect and rescue civilians first.
The Turkish mediation achieve some tangible results following which President Putin himself admitted that Russia had received some positive signs from the Antalya meeting.
Afghanistan, Qatar and US officials hold meeting
Senior officials from Afghanistan, Qatar and the United States held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of ADF 2022. Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani and Tom West, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan.
Muttaqi reiterated the Taliban’s call for “recognition of the new government and release of property as the legitimate right of Afghans,” emphasizing the Taliban government’s efforts to “promote political relations and the economy”.
The US envoy called the meeting “a win-win situation” and discussed Washington’s “future policy on Afghanistan.” West was quoted as saying that “We are trying to get Afghanistan’s economy back on its feet.”
Turkey and Armenia hold ‘constructive’ talks
The second important progress emerged when Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers also met and agreed to defuse tensions and vowed to pursue the normalization of ties. Turkish foreign minister described it as a “productive and constructive” meeting and said that “We are making efforts for stability and peace.”
Turkey and Armenia are looking to mend ties after decades of animosity. The meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Forum was the first face-to-face meeting between the foreign ministers of two countries since 2009.
Antalya diplomacy summit
Antalya Conference itself recorded a big success as about a dozen heads of state, 15 top leaders, including three heads of government, 67 ministers, six deputy ministers, and secretaries of 44 regional and international organizations, including NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg carefully noted the addresses and deliberations.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s frank and candid address to the participants pleased many but surprised some major powers when he complained about double standard policy over Ukraine and lack of attention on other similar issues. He became emotional while explaining the miseries of children due to newly created problems in the world.
Dozens of West European, Baltic, Asian and African highly appreciated the speech and joined him in demanding an immediate ceasefire and negotiating table to settle differences.
President Erdogan has made several surprising moves in recent months when he decided to quickly reconcile with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and even arch-rival Greece while taking his relations with Pakistan, Qatar, China and Russia.
According to a statement issued by Turkish Foreign Ministry, Türkiye has taken on a leading role in the peaceful resolution of conflicts since the establishment of the “Mediation for Peace” initiative at the UN in 2010. It has simultaneously co-chair Contact Groups/Groups of Friends on Mediation at the UN, the OSCE, and the OIC. Istanbul Mediation Conferences have become one of the world’s leading platforms in the field of conflict resolution and mediation.
Antalya Diplomacy Forum is a high-level gathering of professionals who deal with diplomacy such as political leaders, diplomats, opinion makers or academics.