Politics
Syria’s al-Sharaa calls Türkiye ties cornerstone for global stability
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Friday that a strengthened partnership between Syria and Türkiye could serve as a cornerstone for regional stability and global security, as his country seeks to rebuild ties and reposition itself after years of conflict.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), al-Sharaa emphasized the historical and geographic ties between the two countries, describing their relationship as a foundation on which broader cooperation could be built.
“The Syria-Türkiye partnership is a base upon which many things can be constructed for the future of regional and global security,” he said.
Al-Sharaa noted that Syria had been largely isolated from the region and the international community under the former regime, but said the country’s transition had opened new opportunities to restore diplomatic and economic relations.
“The liberation of Syria from the former regime created an opportunity to rebuild ties regionally and internationally,” he said, adding that Türkiye had been a consistent supporter of the Syrian opposition for more than a decade.
He described Syria as moving from a period of crisis into a period of opportunity, highlighting ongoing efforts to attract investment and deepen cooperation with regional partners, particularly Türkiye.
Addressing energy security and supply chains, al-Sharaa said Syria’s geographic position offers strategic advantages as a transit corridor linking East and West.
He pointed to disruptions in global energy markets following recent regional tensions, including conflict involving Iran, as increasing the importance of alternative routes.
“Syria can provide a secure corridor for energy supply and trade routes,” he said, noting connections linking the Arab Gulf to Türkiye through Syria and Jordan, as well as access to the Mediterranean Sea.
He also referred to the so-called “Four Seas” project, a regional integration initiative aimed at connecting energy and trade networks across the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Gulf. Al-Sharaa said the project reflects a broader global demand for secure supply chains and diversified energy routes.
As part of economic cooperation, al-Sharaa said Syria and Türkiye are working on establishing a free trade zone in the northwestern province of Idlib, located along key transit routes connecting Idlib, Latakia, Aleppo and Damascus.
He added that infrastructure projects are underway, including airport expansions and port investments, with Turkish companies playing an active role in Syria’s reconstruction efforts.
Integration process
On internal developments, al-Sharaa said progress had been made in integrating various armed groups into a unified national framework.
He noted that forces linked to the YPG terrorist group are being incorporated into state structures, while remaining foreign military elements in northeastern Syria have withdrawn.
“The integration process between the Syrian state and these forces is ongoing and progressing positively,” he said, describing it as critical for national stability.
On Jan. 30, the Syrian government announced that it had reached a comprehensive agreement with the U.S.-backed YPG aimed at ending divisions in the country and launching a new phase of integration.
The ministry said the completion of the handover of U.S. sites “represents a natural outcome of the successful integration of the YPG into national structures, and of the Syrian state assuming full responsibility for combating terrorism and addressing regional threats on its territory.”
Recently, the Syrian Foreign Ministry also announced that the government has taken control of all military bases previously used by U.S. forces deployed in the country as part of the international coalition against Daesh, marking a significant shift in control over northeastern regions.
The ministry said in a statement that it “welcomes the completed handover of military sites where United States forces were previously present in Syria to the Syrian government,” adding that the move was carried out “in full coordination between the Syrian and American governments.”
Moreover, reflecting on the Antalya forum, he praised Türkiye’s role in hosting international dialogue platforms and contributing to global diplomacy.
“Türkiye has become a country with significant influence both regionally and globally,” he said.
He concluded with a message to the international community, urging engagement with a changing Syria.
“Syria is no longer defined by crisis,” he said. “It is becoming a place of reconstruction, stability and a new future, a historic opportunity.”
The 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum opened in Türkiye on Friday, gathering global leaders and top officials to discuss rising international challenges and uncertainties, including the Middle East war.
Held under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and hosted by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the three-day forum is taking place in the southern Mediterranean city of Antalya under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties.”
The high-stakes forum is also bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Pakistan’s powerful army chief met senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the six-week war.
The foreign ministers of Türkiye, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to meet on the sidelines of the forum, with the war and the blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz expected to dominate. The timing of the meeting has not yet been announced.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a key mediator in regional diplomacy, having hosted rare talks between Iran and the U.S. last weekend, which ended inconclusively.
“We are making the necessary efforts to reduce tensions, extend the cease-fire and continue the negotiations,” Erdogan said in an address to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Parliament this week.
“Negotiations cannot take place with clenched fists. Weapons must not be allowed to speak again instead of words. The window of opportunity opened by the cease-fire must be fully utilized.”
The White House has said further talks with Iran would “very likely” be in Islamabad, where Vice President JD Vance led the U.S. delegation in the last round of negotiations.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who met Qatar’s ruler in Doha on Thursday as part of a regional tour, will also join the forum and meet Erdoğan on its margins, as Islamabad pushes for a U.S.-Iran second round.
“We will continue to provide all the support we can to ensure that the ongoing temporary cease-fire turns into a permanent one,” a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.
“We hope that this war, whose effects are being felt increasingly not only regionally but also globally, will come to an end as soon as possible, and that the parties will act constructively in the ongoing negotiation process,” the source said.
Türkiye, while a vocal critic of Israel, has joined diplomatic efforts with Egypt and Pakistan to help reach a cease-fire in the conflict.
Ankara has said the Middle East cease-fire should include Lebanon, which is facing Israeli attacks.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz should be reopened “as soon as possible” while warning that its status would remain a key point of contention.
He described the waterway as an “international free passage zone,” adding that any disruption to freedom of navigation is not something parties want to see.”
More than 150 countries are expected to take part in the Antalya gathering, including more than 20 heads of state and government.
Among the participants are Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
More than 150 countries are represented at the event, including over 20 heads of state and government and nearly 15 deputy leaders. The forum also brings together more than 50 ministers – over 40 of them foreign ministers – as well as representatives from 75 international organizations.
In total, more than 460 high-level participants and nearly 5,000 attendees, including academics and students, are expected to take part.
Participants from Africa and Europe make up nearly half of the attending heads of state, while foreign ministers are expected to join mainly from Africa (around 40%), Europe (35%) and Asia (22%).
The forum features more than 40 panels and events, including leadership-level discussions addressing political, economic, environmental and technological challenges, with a particular focus on the evolving global landscape.
Sessions are being streamed live on the forum’s official website and social media platforms, with several also broadcast by Türkiye’s public broadcaster TRT.
United Nations officials and Turkish lawmakers highlighted expanding cooperation on humanitarian and development issues during a panel held on the sidelines of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Istanbul.
The discussion, titled “U.N. presence in Türkiye: A test case for closer cooperation between the U.N. and parliaments,” brought together senior U.N. representatives and parliamentarians to assess how legislative bodies can support global development goals and humanitarian work.
U.N. Resident Coordinator in Türkiye, Babatunde Ahonsi, said parliaments play a central role in translating international commitments into national law and ensuring accountability. He said Türkiye has developed a “diverse and inclusive” partnership with the U.N. system, adding that cooperation has continued for years with a strong focus on humanitarian priorities.
Ahonsi noted increasing coordination with the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and said efforts are moving toward more structured institutional engagement, particularly in areas such as human rights, gender equality, empowerment and child protection.
Daniela Carmela Ciccihella, deputy representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Türkiye, said cooperation with lawmakers is critical in shaping legislation affecting refugees and stateless people. She said the U.N. Refugee Agency provides parliamentarians with data, trend analysis and policy support to inform decision-making, stressing the importance of integrating refugee protection into legislative and budgetary processes.
Maryse Guimond, director of U.N. Women in Türkiye, highlighted efforts to strengthen women’s participation in political leadership, saying inclusive governance is key to sustaining peace. She noted that dialogue platforms for women parliamentarians have been established, describing them as a “transformative step” in advancing gender equality.
Malti Gandhi, deputy representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund in Türkiye, said Türkiye serves as a model for cooperation with UNICEF, particularly in turning child-focused priorities into policy discussions at both public and legislative levels. She said the U.N. seeks to support national decision-making while contributing comparative global expertise.
Gandhi added that the broader goal of U.N. engagement with parliaments is to improve living conditions and ensure that “no one is left behind,” underscoring the importance of sustained dialogue between international institutions and national legislatures.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that unlawful attacks on Iran have heightened regional security risks, calling for a new and stronger security architecture during talks with regional leaders at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
According to the Presidential Communications Directorate, Erdoğan made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the forum.
He emphasized that Türkiye will continue and intensify efforts to preserve the cease-fire and ensure lasting peace, while stressing the need for a comprehensive and durable regional security framework.
The leaders also discussed possible joint steps to achieve sustainable peace across the region.
On the margins of the forum, Erdoğan held a series of bilateral meetings with regional counterparts, including Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
The meetings, held in Antalya’s Belek region, focused on bilateral ties and regional developments.
Senior Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization head Ibrahim Kalın and Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, attended the meetings.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for transforming a fragile cease-fire between the U.S. and Iran into lasting peace and warned of mounting regional risks, saying the Middle East is facing one of its most serious tests in recent history.
Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Fidan stressed the need to “put out the fire” in the region, expressing hope that the recently reached cease-fire would be fully implemented and evolve into a durable peace.
He referred to the 14-day cease-fire between the United States and Iran reached earlier this month and efforts led by Pakistan to revive stalled talks between Washington and Tehran.
Fidan warned that the world is entering an era defined by overlapping crises and uncertainty, where multiple threats reinforce one another.
He said the ongoing war and its regional spillover effects have caused serious damage to the international system, underlining that the latest escalation has once again demonstrated that war produces no winners.
Praising diplomatic efforts that helped secure the temporary cease-fire, particularly those led by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Fidan said the root causes of the conflict must not be ignored.
He described Israel’s expansionist policies as a direct threat to global stability, urging those seeking lasting peace to take action to halt further escalation.
Fidan noted that the international community has shown rare unity in efforts to de-escalate tensions, calling for this momentum to be used to strengthen dialogue and diplomacy.
He emphasized that diplomacy must remain central to resolving conflicts, describing it as the key tool to prevent further escalation, rebuild trust and preserve common ground for the future.
Fidan outlined two main pillars for shaping a more stable future. The first is reforming global governance to make international institutions more inclusive, transparent and accountable, warning that current structures are increasingly ineffective and risk deepening crises.
He also stressed the need for fairer distribution of global prosperity and cautioned against the misuse of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence as tools of dominance.
The second pillar, he said, involves taking strategic steps to ensure lasting regional peace and stability. He pointed to ongoing conflicts, including the Russia-Ukraine war, Israel’s expanding military actions from Gaza to Syria, Lebanon and Iran, and instability in the Horn of Africa and Sudan, as evidence of rising interconnected crises.
Fidan highlighted Türkiye’s role as a key diplomatic actor capable of engaging with all sides, emphasizing Ankara’s commitment to mediation and regional stability.
He added that a sustainable regional order requires respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, recognition of diversity as a source of strength, stronger regional security cooperation, an end to the use of non-state actors and progress toward a two-state solution in Palestine.
On the sidelines of the forum, Fidan also held separate meetings with Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, brings together world leaders and senior officials from April 17 to 19 in southern Türkiye, focusing this year on the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties.”
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held its 152nd Assembly on Thursday in Istanbul, at a session chaired by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
The situation in Gaza where tens of thousands of Palestinians were slaughtered by Israel since 2023 was the main theme of Kurtulmuş’s keynote speech at the General Assembly. He said hosting parliamentarians in Istanbul to deepen multilateral ties was a reflection of demonstrating humanity’s common conscience.
Referring to the event’s theme of “nurturing hope, securing peace and ensuring justice for future generations,” Kurtulmuş said it was a comprehensive goal addressing to the needs of the age.
Kurtulmuş noted that humanity is going through an extraordinarily difficult, critical and challenging period in which escalating and expanding conflicts, deepening inequalities, displacement, waves of hunger and the erosion of trust are all intertwined. He explained that a multilateral and multipolar political architecture had long been one of the main pillars of international balance.
Stating that developments in recent years have eroded the capacity of institutions to generate will, the ability to enforce rules and the moral weight of concepts, Kurtulmuş said: “The situation we face is not one that stems merely from certain technical deficiencies or disruptions, nor can it be explained solely by such shortcomings. We are confronted with a deeper, more comprehensive, and universal problem. While the global system maintains its claim to solve problems, unfortunately it fails to demonstrate the courage to implement norms. In principle, the texts remain in place and are in force; however, in the face of the destruction suffered by millions, these principles no longer have any protective effect. Law has been transformed into an instrument of pressure that bends for the powerful while becoming rigid against the weak.”
Emphasizing that the international system is in clear collapse and that the grave situation in Gaza is just one of the clearest manifestations of this collapse, Kurtulmuş continued: “In a situation where civilians cannot be protected, the right to life cannot be guaranteed, health infrastructure has been destroyed, humanitarian aid passages are blocked, and basic living conditions have been eliminated, the failure to present an effective and binding will constitutes a serious responsibility and a serious test for all of us in terms of the international system. There is no need to mince words here. An international structure that remains silent in the face of systematic attacks against humanity is in fact losing its founding claims. Centers that claim to represent conscience are content with merely watching the suffering. The Palestinian issue has gone far beyond being the tragedy of a particular region and has become a shared test for all of humanity,” he underlined.
Kurtulmuş stated that Gaza serves as a clear laboratory demonstrating the destructive consequences of selectively applied humanitarian law. “Gaza is a grave test that questions why institutions were established, whom rules are meant to protect, and how consistently the human family can act in the face of shared values and we are all confronted with this test. Silence maintained at the cost of the lives of the oppressed can never be considered neutrality. I would like to state clearly that political bargaining can never be conducted over the right to life of civilians,” he said.
He emphasized that the parliaments had a major responsibility in the face of these developments.
“We must not lose the ability to call an oppressor an oppressor under the guise of politeness. There is a difference between speaking in a measured way and speaking ineffectively, just as there is a difference between calmness and silence. Therefore, I would like to emphasize that parliaments bear a great responsibility in this period. We will both speak clearly and never adopt an attitude that hides the truth under the name of courtesy,” he said.
Founded in 1889 by parliamentary representatives to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation and dialogue, the IPU now stands out as the umbrella organization of the world’s parliaments, with 183 member countries.
Türkiye, which hosted General Assembly meetings in 1934 and 1951 and most recently 30 years ago, is set to once again demonstrate its experience and expertise in parliamentary diplomacy, as well as the importance it places on multilateral relations and international dialogue.
A highlight of the opening ceremony for the General Assembly was the arrival of the Iranian delegation with a bloodied school bag belonging to a student killed in a U.S.-Israel attack in the conflict that began on Feb. 28.
At the session of the peace and international security committee of the general assembly, lawmakers debated a resolution for the creation of post-conflict administrative mechanisms and works on ensuring fair and permanent peace by parliaments. Awni Al-Zoubi, a member of Jordan’s Parliament, told the session that a draft resolution he and fellow parliamentarians presented on the matter had references to the United Nations, noting that the parliaments had an important duty to convert political commitments to mechanisms and create follow-up, monitoring mechanisms. He said national agencies should lead post-conflict recoveries while other countries should provide support to the said agencies and ensure democratic legitimacy.
Benjamin Okezie Kalu, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, told the session that a cease-fire is often confused with the “end of a war,” but post-conflict cease-fire agreements tend to be fragile and need structured efforts and frameworks.
“Without this framework, the countries are at risk of succumbing to the cycle of violence,” Kalu warned. He said parliaments can help turn fragile agreements into binding regulations.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the international system is facing a deep legitimacy crisis, warning that diplomacy has been replaced by weapons, as he called for renewed efforts toward dialogue, justice and peace.
Addressing the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Erdoğan expressed hope that discussions and decisions made during the gathering would strengthen solidarity among nations and contribute to resolving ongoing crises, particularly the Israeli violence in Gaza.
He emphasized that the global system established after World War II is losing credibility, with its core values, rules and institutions increasingly undermined.
“The international system established by the victors 80 years ago is now facing a deep crisis of legitimacy,” he said.
Erdoğan noted that international law has lost its deterrent effect on actors committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, adding that a growing reliance on military force instead of diplomacy has created an environment where no one feels secure.
He reaffirmed that Türkiye’s foreign policy prioritizes resolving conflicts through peaceful means, stressing that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without the active involvement of regional actors.
Erdoğan highlighted Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts in regions including Gaza, Ukraine, Iran and Africa, describing them as grounded in principled and realistic approaches.
He also underlined the critical role of parliaments in representing the will of nations and contributing to global peace efforts, while criticizing the international community’s slow response to crises in the Middle East.
Erdoğan pointed to recent developments, noting that while global attention has shifted to tensions involving Iran, thousands of people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Palestine and Lebanon, with more than one million displaced in Lebanon.
-
Daily Agenda2 days agoStatement from Minister Tekin regarding the armed attacks: “All necessary steps will be taken with care and attention”
-
Daily Agenda3 days agoWorld Peace Council should be established – Last Minute News
-
Economy3 days agoTürkiye working to evacuate remaining ships from Strait of Hormuz
-
Sports3 days agoSönmez stuns world No. 8 Paolini in career-defining Stuttgart win
-
Economy3 days agoEU warns of lasting energy shock, forced cuts if Iran war continues
-
Economy2 days agoTrump threatens to sack Powell if he doesn’t quit Fed board
-
Lifestyle3 days ago‘Travel itch’ drives people to plan next trip while still on one: Study
-
Daily Agenda2 days agoSpeaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Kurtulmuş: “Israel’s UN membership should be suspended”