Politics
Erdoğan backs Pakistan’s peace push to end war in call with Sharif
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised Pakistan’s peace initiative to end the Gulf conflict and commended Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for his leadership in pursuing efforts to halt hostilities, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office.
During a phone call, Erdoğan conveyed his congratulations to Sharif over what he described as a historic initiative aimed at ending the conflict in the region. He praised the Pakistani leader’s “bold and sagacious” leadership in advancing diplomatic efforts to stop a war that has caused widespread human suffering and extensive damage to infrastructure.
Erdoğan also reaffirmed Türkiye’s full support for Pakistan’s efforts to restore peace and stability in the region.
Sharif expressed gratitude for Erdoğan’s support and endorsement, reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to promoting peace and stability both regionally and globally.
The two leaders held what officials described as a warm and cordial conversation, underscoring close ties between Türkiye and Pakistan.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum that will be held in the eponymous Turkish city, the ministry’s spokesperson announced on Wednesday.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a weekly press briefing that Lavrov will be in Türkiye on April 17-18 to attend the forum, upon the invitation of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Lavrov has participated in the previous editions of the forum, but he has not been to Türkiye since February 2025, a significant gap for the top diplomat of a country that Türkiye has close ties with.
Zaharova said Lavrov, apart from addressing the forum, would hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts. “It is expected that the talks would focus on developments in the Middle East, the Southern Caucasus and the Black Sea, along with international issues and relations with third countries.”
Turkish-Russian relations have not lost steam despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ankara maintains close ties with both sides. Yet, diplomacy between Ankara and Moscow was largely confined to phone diplomacy and bilateral talks on the margins of international events. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week, shortly before a surprise visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Türkiye.
At the forum, Türkiye aims to highlight its vision for diplomacy and peace as Ankara has raised its profile as a key mediator in conflicts in recent years.
With Israel’s aggressive expansionism threatening to further destabilize the region, from the Gulf to Syria and Iran, Türkiye promotes itself as an oasis of stability. The two-day forum will be a platform for Ankara to showcase this vision, discussing sharpening the foresight for future challenges and efficient ways to address those issues.
Erdoğan and Fidan are scheduled to make keynote speeches at the forum, which will host leaders’ panels and other sessions entitled ADFPanels, ADFRounds and ADFTalks.
The event is expected to be attended by decision-makers, diplomats, academics, businesspeople, and representatives of media and civic society for discussions on managing uncertainties, emergency issues and future challenges through interactive sessions and bilateral meetings.
The forum last year hosted participants from 155 countries, including 21 heads of state and government and 61 ministers.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz sees a new future for Türkiye in the changing world. Speaking to broadcaster TRT Haber late Tuesday, Yılmaz said Türkiye would have a more efficient role in the security architecture.
“Türkiye is a country that bolstered deterrence and at the same time, strongly demonstrated its principled stance favoring law and justice, peace diplomacy,” he underlined.
The vice president said Türkiye’s strategic importance was “understood better at a time of debate on Europe’s security architecture.”
NATO, the central security alliance for Europe, has been thrust repeatedly into crisis since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to power last year, most acutely by his threat to seize the vast Arctic island of Greenland from fellow member Denmark. That followed him pulling the rug from under Ukraine in its war against Russia, threats not to protect allies if they don’t spend more on defense, and warnings that Washington could pull troops from Europe.
Yılmaz stated that it was imperative to be a “safe harbor” at a time of instability across the world.
He said that the war in the region and recent developments have demonstrated more clearly how accurate and forward-looking the terror-free Türkiye initiative is. “At a time when certain imperialist calculations and traps are being set over our region, strengthening our internal front, reinforcing our national unity and solidarity, and elevating our sense of brotherhood are truly invaluable,” he said. The initiative, brainchild of government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, aims to end the campaign of terrorism by the PKK that cost Türkiye thousands of lives and billions of liras since the 1980s. The terrorist group, spread across Syria and Iraq, has been the major security threat for years before it accepted to disarm itself in 2025. Yılmaz explained that the process will continue depending on developments on the ground, with legal regulations coming onto the agenda. “We hope that this will be realized as soon as possible. As you know, Türkiye has spent more than 40 years and exhausted many of its resources on this issue. Our greatest loss has been our people,” he said.
Emphasizing the importance of resolute and experienced leadership, especially during times of chaos, turmoil, conflict, and tension, Yılmaz said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was “a source of stability for the region and the world. “We see this not only in the Middle East but also in the context of Ukraine-Russia. Recently, our President had a very comprehensive phone call with Mr. Putin. We hosted Mr. Zelensky in Türkiye. Together with our Foreign Minister, they went to Syria. These are important diplomatic initiatives and positions that attract the attention of the entire world,” he said.
Two years after an unprecedented success in local elections, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is challenged by an internal split. Media reports say infighting between those loyal to the current administration and those acting with former Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu may split the party. A report by the Sabah newspaper indicates that incumbent Chair Özgür Özel and his close associate, former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, may found a new party.
Imamoğlu was arrested last year on charges of corruption, shortly before he was declared the future presidential candidate of Türkiye’s oldest party. Özel long counted on him as a contender against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2028 vote, but his imprisonment and annulment of his diploma (a requirement to contest in elections) hindered those plans. Moreover, serious allegations of corruption involving Imamoğlu as well as other CHP mayors gave rise to the dissent in the party, urging the Özel administration to “come clean.”
Another challenge for the CHP is a trial on vote-buying allegations regarding the intra-party election in 2023 that brought Özel to power. A recent hearing on the trial has been postponed to May 6. In the trial, Özel and his associates are accused of buying votes of delegates to oust Kılıçdaroğlu. The court may hand down a verdict of “absolute nullification” of the Özel administrationö and if it happens, a trustee will be appointed to run the party, dimming the hopes of winning any future election.
The report by Sabah says Özel’s opponents within the party mobilized amid rumors of “nullification” and were holding frequent meetings with Kılıçdaroğlu, in a bid to convince him to return to his former post, this time as a trustee. In this scenario, Özel and Imamoğlu will join a new party that will be founded by their supporters, the report said. A dissident of Özel speaking anonymously to the newspaper said the number of CHP lawmakers to join the new party would be “limited,” citing that most incumbent lawmakers owed their seats to Kılıçdaroğlu and most felt respect and gratitude to the former chair.
They said up to 40 names may switch to the new party, and Kılıçdaroğlu would still have at least 100 lawmakers loyal to him in this scenario. The CHP currently has 138 seats in Parliament. Another senior figure in the party told Sabah that Kılıçdaroğlu still had clout in the party despite “attempts by armies of social media trolls to portray otherwise.”
“The CHP needs to purge itself (of corruption),” the source said.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance, values or position of Daily Sabah. The newspaper provides space for diverse perspectives as part of its commitment to open and informed public discussion.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged restraint and diplomacy regarding Iran, warning against actions that could lead to widespread regional destruction, during talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Erdoğan said any effort aimed at the total destruction of Iran would be unacceptable, while also criticizing Tehran’s stance toward neighboring countries, stressing that all parties must act responsibly and prioritize diplomatic solutions.
He also warned that Israel’s continued disregard for international law in Gaza and elsewhere risks prolonging instability across the region if not addressed.
The Turkish president further emphasized the need to revive negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war, calling on the international community to take a more serious and peace-focused approach.
Erdoğan also noted that cooperation between Türkiye and Spain, particularly in defense, continues to be welcomed by both nations and should be further strengthened.
Sanchez frequently rejected what he called the unilateral military action by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, which he said represented an escalation and contributed to a more uncertain and hostile international order.
Opposition to the U.S.-Israel-Iran war united Spaniards and Turks. Türkiye, like Spain, has refused to take sides in the ongoing war and equally criticized both parties while urging for diplomatic means to resolve their differences.
The European country has already won the admiration of the Turkish public for demonstrating the most passionate opposition to Israel’s massacres in Gaza.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper discussed diplomatic efforts to end the ongoing regional war and secure lasting peace, Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
They also reviewed bilateral relations between Türkiye and the U.K.
The call came after U.S. President Donald Trump gave Iran until 8 p.m. Tuesday Eastern (0000GMT Wednesday) to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and reach an agreement or face attacks on its energy infrastructure.
Regional tensions have escalated since the U.S. and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,400 people to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, as well as Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets. Iran has also restricted the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Muhammad Ishaq Dar to discuss diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said Tuesday.
No further information was released about the call that came hours after Pakistan made a last-minute proposal to avert catastrophic U.S. attacks on Iran, hours ahead of a deadline set by President Donald Trump who warned a “whole civilization will die tonight”.
The White House said it was aware and would respond to the proposal by Pakistan, which has sought to mediate after more than five weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
“Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X.
He appealed directly to Trump to extend his deadline set for 8:00 PM Washington time (midnight GMT) by two weeks.
In turn, he asked Iran to commit for two weeks to fulfilling Trump’s key demand — reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital gateway for global oil which Tehran closed in retaliation for the war.
The latest threats from Trump, shocking even by his own provocative standards, brought disbelief and warnings that he was encouraging genocide — potentially one day leading to war crimes charges against US servicemembers who comply.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The rhetoric was an escalation from a profanity-laden post two days earlier, on Easter Sunday, in which Trump threatened to destroy all bridges and power plants in the country of 90 million — a war crime unless proven that the sites are mostly for military use.
Pope Leo XIV said that “this threat against all the people of Iran” was “truly unacceptable”.
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