Politics
FM Fidan to chair first-ever R4-E3 talks in Istanbul
Türkiye will host foreign ministers from six countries in Istanbul on Friday for the first joint meeting of the R4 and E3 diplomatic groups, focusing on escalating regional tensions, the Palestinian issue and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the Foreign Ministry sources said on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will chair the Oct. 23 meetings, bringing together representatives from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and E3 countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom and France.
Participants will include German Foreign Minister Johann David Wadephul, British Foreign Minister Ed Miliband, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
The seven countries will convene under the R4+E3 format for the first time at Türkiye’s initiative, marking a new platform for diplomatic coordination between regional and European powers.
According to the sources, discussions will focus on Palestine, the Strait of Hormuz, developments involving Yemen and diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war.
The ministers are also expected to explore opportunities for closer cooperation and coordination between the two diplomatic groups.
Fidan is expected to emphasize that regional security requires countries directly affected by conflicts to assume greater responsibility, highlighting Türkiye’s commitment to regional ownership and cooperation.
He will warn against allowing existing conflicts to fuel new crises or spread instability across the region.
On Palestine, Fidan is expected to criticize Israel’s continued occupation and settlement expansion, urging stronger international pressure and warning against actions that could undermine Jerusalem’s historical and legal status or prospects for a two-state solution.
He is also expected to stress that tensions between Washington and Tehran can only be resolved through dialogue, arguing that military measures risk triggering broader regional confrontation.
Fidan will highlight the importance of permanently restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, two critical maritime routes for international trade.
The minister is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security following Houthi attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.
On Syria, he will acknowledge contributions by R4 and E3 countries toward stability while criticizing Israeli actions that Ankara says threaten the country’s security.
Turning to Ukraine, Türkiye’s top diplomat will reiterate Ankara’s readiness to support diplomatic efforts to end the war and prevent hostilities from spreading across the Black Sea.
R4, E3 initiatives
The R4 mechanism, comprising Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, was established to strengthen regional dialogue and promote stability.
Its foreign ministers have held six meetings since March 2026, most recently in New York on Sept. 21.
The E3 grouping, consisting of Germany, France and Britain, emerged in 2003 through diplomatic cooperation over Iran’s nuclear program before expanding its engagement to other international issues.
Friday’s meeting will bring the two formats together for the first time, providing an opportunity to coordinate responses to overlapping regional and global security challenges.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held separate phone calls Wednesday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, discussing bilateral cooperation, regional security and global developments, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said.
During his conversation with Aliyev, Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan, emphasizing the deep-rooted bonds of brotherhood between the two countries, the directorate said on social media platform X.
Erdoğan also congratulated Aliyev on the 35th anniversary of Azerbaijan’s Restoration of Independence and invited him to attend the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, scheduled to take place in Ankara.
In a separate call with Radev, Erdoğan stressed Ankara’s determination to deepen ties with Bulgaria and pursue concrete steps to expand cooperation, particularly in trade.
The Turkish president also highlighted Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea through continued engagement with both Russia and Ukraine.
Erdoğan expressed sorrow over a drone attack in Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone and conveyed his sympathies and best wishes.
He also invited Radev to the COP31 Leaders’ Summit, scheduled for Nov. 11-12 in Antalya, according to the directorate.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu once received red-carpet treatment by fellow lawmakers, but all he’s got now is a crude tape, rolled just a few inches from the door of his office at Parliament. The opposing room belongs to Murat Emir, deputy group chair of New Party (YP), a lawmaker who rose in the ranks of CHP under Kılıçdaroğlu. Emir denies that the tape was installed to avoid close contact with Kılıçdaroğlu and is merely a measure to prevent “crowding” outside the room of the CHP leader, but for many watching the rift between the two parties, it is a continuation of the bitter feud.
The incident is just another reflection of bitterness between CHP and YP, the latter of which was founded by CHP’s ousted chair Özgür Özel in July. YP accuses Kılıçdaroğlu and his associates of betraying the party by accepting a court verdict that reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu to the post he lost in a shady intraparty election late 2023. The new CHP administration, in turn, accuses the former one of corrupting Türkiye’s oldest party by picking mayors and top officials who were later arrested in corruption probes.
Broadcaster A Haber reported on Tuesday that Kılıçdaroğlu was also actively avoiding encounters with YP lawmakers at Parliament and even takes the stairs instead of the elevator right next to his room at Parliament. As for Özel, he made his dislike of Kılıçdaroğlu evident in moments captured by cameras when both men attended the funeral of a former lawmaker last week. Kılıçdaroğlu shook Özel’s hand during the funeral, almost without stopping to say hi, while Özel was captured on camera turning his face away and grimacing as Kılıçdaroğlu extended his hand.
Türkiye, which has successfully hosted numerous international summits this year, is continuing preparations for a meeting that Turkish officials often dub a “family council” of kindred countries. Leaders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will convene on Oct. 29-30 in Ankara. The summit is expected to be a milestone at which critical decisions will be made on the path toward the vision of the “Century of the Turkic World,” an ambitious idea of uniting Turkic countries as an influential bloc with a say in global affairs.
The presidents of member states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, as well as observer states Hungary, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Turkmenistan, are expected to attend the meeting, where global and regional issues concerning the Turkic world will be discussed.
The OTS’ rotating presidency will be handed over to Türkiye from Azerbaijan. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the other participating leaders. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is also scheduled to arrive in Ankara on Oct. 28 for talks as part of a bilateral visit.
At the Ankara summit, Turkic states will launch initiatives to take relations to a new level. Economic and trade ties, transportation and energy connectivity, and cooperation in education and technology will be on the agenda. The summit will also address global and regional issues concerning the Turkic world, with discussions focusing on strengthening the OTS’s institutional cooperation with international organizations and increasing its international influence and visibility.
As the importance of the Turkic countries continues to grow in a changing global system, efforts are underway to ensure the Turkic world endures for generations to come. Leaders and representatives of Turkic states will discuss a roadmap for building the “Century of the Turkic World” at the summit. In this regard, the Ankara summit is expected to mark a major turning point. Türkiye is signaling its determination to continue these efforts during its term as chair, with the aim of turning the Turkic world’s human, economic and strategic potential into shared prosperity and building the Turkic century through unity and solidarity.
The summit is also expected to reaffirm the commitment to pursuing initiatives in line with the Vision 2040 document, adopted in Istanbul in 2021. Prepared by the OTS, the document is the organization’s first foundational framework setting out its medium- and long-term strategic goals. It establishes a framework across four main areas: “political and security cooperation, economic and sectoral cooperation, people-to-people cooperation, and cooperation with third parties.”
The Organization of Turkic States was established under the name Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States through the Nakhchivan Agreement, signed by Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on Oct. 3, 2009. Its name was changed to the Organization of Turkic States at the Istanbul summit in 2021.
The OTS’s main objectives include “consolidating mutual trust among Turkic states, strengthening political solidarity, developing economic and technical cooperation, and documenting and promoting the historical and cultural heritage of the Turkic world.”
Headquartered in Istanbul, the OTS has five member states, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and four observers: Hungary, Turkmenistan, the TRNC and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
Iraq is coordinating closely with Türkiye to remove the PKK terrorist organization from its territory, a government spokesperson said, pledging that Iraqi soil would never be used to threaten neighboring countries.
Iraqi government spokesperson Haider Abboudi told the country’s official INA news agency that Baghdad was maintaining high-level coordination with Ankara to resolve the PKK issue and ensure the terrorist group’s removal from Iraq.
Abboudi stressed that Iraq would not allow its territory to serve as a base for threats against neighboring states, dismissing allegations that Yemen’s Houthi movement maintains headquarters in the country.
He also said Baghdad was working closely with Tehran to address the presence of armed Iranian Kurdish groups in Iraq, with the two countries establishing a joint committee to coordinate efforts.
Addressing bilateral trade with Iran, Abboudi said the Sheib border crossing was not yet technically ready for operations, but commercial exchanges continued through other crossings.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the European Union, has maintained a presence in northern Iraq for decades, using the mountainous region as a base for attacks against Türkiye.
One of the issues discussed at a meeting of the Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara on Tuesday was local governance reform. The party has nearly finalized its work on the reforms, media outlets reported, amid a wave of corruption investigations targeting municipalities across the country.
The reforms include bringing discipline to municipalities’ financial structures, strengthening inspection mechanisms and cutting red tape that leads to overlapping authorities in municipal governance. They will soon be submitted to Parliament as part of a draft bill.
AK Party sources told reporters that Tuesday’s meeting focused on the impact of allegations of bribery, corruption and tender-rigging in investigations into municipalities, particularly those run by opposition parties, on municipal services.
The reforms will also focus on regulations governing construction permits and zoning. In many corruption cases involving municipal officials, including mayors, suspects are accused of issuing construction permits in violation of regulations in exchange for bribes or altering zoning plans to pave the way for commercial construction in areas that should otherwise be allocated for public use.
New Party (YP) will stay new, so to speak, as the Constitutional Court dismissed a case on Wednesday for the annulment of the name of the main opposition party.
In September, the court gave YP one month to present a defense in the lawsuit originally filed by Innovation Party (“Yenilik Partisi”), also abbreviated as YP. The smaller party requested a name change for the New Party, citing concerns that the name of the party founded last July may cause confusion among voters. The case was brought before the Constitutional Court by the General Prosecution Office, which handles cases related to political parties’ affairs. The Constitutional Court then asked the New Party to present its defense, which was done earlier this month. YP has claimed that the name would not impact the electorate’s choice, as they were aware of the distinction between parties, both in terms of the unabbreviated names of parties and their logos.
The Innovation Party was founded by former Ambassador Öztürk Yılmaz in 2020. Yılmaz served as a lawmaker with the Republican People’s Party (CHP) between 2015 and 2018, before Özgür Özel became CHP chair. Özel was forced out of office last May when a court ruled that his tenure should be nullified over allegations of vote-buying in a 2023 intraparty election. Özel initially planned to fight the verdict through an appeal process but later declared the founding of the New Party with the participation of dozens of lawmakers from CHP, now making it the main opposition party in Parliament.
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