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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks in Brussels with Belgian, NATO and European Union officials, covering bilateral cooperation and a series of regional crises. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she raised Libya’s maritime agreement with Türkiye and Russia’s escalation in the Black Sea.
Fidan traveled to the Belgian capital with Justice Minister Akin Gurlek and Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci. He said the aim was to take Türkiye’s “multidimensional” cooperation with Belgium further.
The delegation took part in the fourth meeting of the foreign, justice and interior ministers of the two countries. Fidan said the ministers focused on concrete steps to build cooperation on the basis of mutual trust and shared interests. The meeting followed a large Belgian economic mission to Türkiye in May.
Fidan also met his Belgian counterpart, Maxime Prevot. The two discussed bilateral relations and regional issues in detail, according to Fidan, who said Ankara was pleased that ties with Belgium were deepening in every field. He thanked Prevot and other Belgian officials for their hospitality.
In Brussels, Fidan also met Turkish business representatives and members of civil society organizations. He spoke at an event hosted by the European Policy Centre, a think tank, where he shared Türkiye’s views on global issues.
Fidan met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Kallas, who is also a vice president of the European Commission. He said they reviewed current developments, including the war in Ukraine, disputes in the Gulf, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Palestinian issue.
Fidan said he stressed the importance of shared responsibility and fair burden sharing as global balances shift and Europe faces security challenges. He added that Türkiye would keep working with its partners in the Euro-Atlantic family for peace, security and stability.
Kallas described her exchange with Fidan as an extensive discussion on a range of issues. On her side, she said, good neighborly relations and progress in the Cyprus settlement process were of high importance.
She said she raised the Libyan vote on a maritime memorandum of understanding with Türkiye, held the day before. She stressed that the agreement “infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states.”
On the Black Sea, Kallas called Russia’s escalation dangerous and said pressure on Moscow must increase to end the war. She noted that both the EU and Türkiye support an arrangement guaranteeing freedom of navigation there.
Kallas said the two also covered developments in the South Caucasus and across the Middle East. She described Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen as “textbook terror tactics” that “must end.”
On the Strait of Hormuz, she said Iran is making shipping dangerous and expensive. She said freedom of navigation must be restored “without tolls or fees.” The strait is a key passage for global energy shipments, which is why disruptions there draw wide international concern.
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