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Türkiye's foreign minister said Saturday that Ankara used the United Nations General Assembly's high-level week in New York to advance diplomacy on Gaza, regional security and UN reform, describing more than 40 bilateral and multilateral meetings held over the course of the gathering.
Speaking at a news conference after the week concluded, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Palestine remained the central issue on Türkiye's agenda throughout the discussions.
"We advocated dialogue over conflict, diplomacy over crises, and cooperation over division," Fidan said, adding that Turkish officials raised Israel's actions in Gaza, including what he called its occupation and annexation activities, at every meeting they attended.
Fidan said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his 16th address to the General Assembly to again draw international attention to the situation facing Palestinians, calling the speech a manifesto laying out Türkiye's global vision.
Erdogan also held 16 bilateral meetings during the week, attended a high-level event on climate action, and joined a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Gulf Cooperation Council leaders on regional issues, according to Fidan.
The president additionally met with Turkish citizens living in the United States, Turkish and American business figures, and representatives of U.S. think tanks.
Fidan said he met with counterparts from Indonesia, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in an eight-country format focused on Palestine, and separately took part in discussions tied to last year's New York Declaration and a comprehensive peace plan.
He also held four-way talks with the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, along with trilateral discussions involving his Syrian and Saudi counterparts, and met the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia under the framework of the Mecca Alliance.
As chair of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's Council of Foreign Ministers, Fidan presided over its annual coordination meeting in New York. Türkiye also co-hosted a meeting with the United States on Libya, titled "International Support for Peace, Unity and Prosperity in Libya," he said.
Regional and global developments were separately discussed at an informal meeting of the Organization of Turkic States' Council of Foreign Ministers, and Fidan attended the 30th MIKTA foreign ministers' meeting ahead of Türkiye taking over the group's chairmanship in 2027.
Fidan said Türkiye contributed during the week to UN discussions on migration, development, humanitarian assistance, climate change and food security. Turkish officials also joined meetings on the Rohingya issue, the Alliance of Civilizations and Crimea, and Türkiye hosted a session of the Group of Friends of Mediation.
He said regional problems should be addressed through regional ownership rather than outside intervention, and reaffirmed what he described as Türkiye's long-standing support for reforming the UN system. Fidan added that Türkiye used the week to outline its priorities for COP31, the UN climate conference it is set to chair and host this November.
Fidan said Israel is facing growing international isolation as diplomatic pressure increasingly translates into concrete measures. "Thanks to diplomatic efforts, Israel's oppression and massacres no longer go unanswered to the same extent as before. It now has to pay a very heavy price for every action it takes," he said, pointing to proceedings at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court as evidence of rising pressure on Israel.
On Erdogan's meeting with Trump and Gulf leaders, Fidan said discussions centered on challenges facing the Gaza peace plan launched last year, including what he described as Israeli violations of its provisions, as well as tensions in the Gulf. Erdogan also presented Türkiye's proposals for regional peace, touching on Gaza, concerns over Israeli expansionism, and efforts to resolve the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fidan.
Fidan said Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are working to establish an institutional structure for what he referred to as the Mecca Defense Alliance, with plans to name a secretary-general within two weeks. He said Pakistan has proposed a candidate likely to be accepted by the other member states, and that further appointments would follow once the secretary-general takes office.
The three countries also discussed military threats facing Saudi Arabia, including attacks from Houthi forces to the south and other threats from the north, Fidan said. A military-technical assessment meeting was held in Riyadh on Friday with Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu taking part, and Fidan said he had coordinated with Bayraktaroglu on aligning military assessments with Türkiye's political approach before briefing Erdogan.
On tensions between the United States and Iran, Fidan said he discussed Tehran's latest proposal with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, including conditions attached to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and had received early impressions of Washington's response. "The positive thing is that efforts are continuing.
The negative aspect is that they have not yet yielded any results," he said. Citing a phone call between Erdogan and Trump, Fidan said Türkiye wants diplomatic efforts to continue without renewed hostilities, adding that Gulf partners affected economically and militarily by the crisis share Ankara's preference for a diplomatic resolution.
On Iraq, Fidan said Baghdad has adopted a policy aimed at disarming all armed groups in the country, including the PKK and affiliated groups in the Sinjar region, a matter he said was discussed during Erdogan's meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaydi at the Turkish House in New York.
"We are very pleased to see that the Iraqi side has set a political objective of disarming all armed groups in the country. This is a vision we support," Fidan said. He said Türkiye's military presence in Iraq, particularly at the Bashiqa base, was originally established for counterterrorism cooperation with Iraqi authorities, and that Türkiye could gradually reduce and eventually end that presence as Baghdad carries out its roadmap for eliminating terrorism and disarming armed groups.
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