Multilateralism should be preserved: Türkiye’s top diplomat

INDONESIA

Multilateralism should be kept protected by avoiding bilateral acts in foreign policy, Türkiye’s top diplomat has said, citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a very bad example of bilateralism.

“Unfortunately, multilateralism has been weakened by the bilateral acts of many countries and international organizations. The latest Ukraine war is an example of that,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters following the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Indonesia on July 8.

Çavuşoğlu attended the G20 meetings that focused on the global economy, and the impacts of the Ukraine war on energy and food supplies and held bilateral talks with many of the participant foreign ministers.

Multilateralism is increasingly getting weak due to the inability of the international system, Çavuşoğlu said, adding, “That’s why our President [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] is keeping saying that the world is bigger than five and a more just world is possible.”

Türkiye has long been calling for an overhaul of the U.N. Security Council that leaves all the key global decisions to five permanent members.

The first session was focused on the war in Ukraine, and he informed G20 ministers on Türkiye’s active diplomacy and the second session addressed the food and energy crisis due to the Ukraine war, Çavuşoğlu informed.

“I have shared our views and proposals on both food and energy security. I have also mentioned about our efforts and the U.N. plan for the export of much-needed wheat and grain from Ukraine and Russia to world markets,” he stated.

The minister highlighted the results of NATO’s Madrid Summit that paved the way for starting the process for the admission of Sweden and Finland into the alliance. “We told our colleagues that this trilateral agreement is now signed, but Sweden and Finland should take concrete steps accordingly,” he stated.

He referred to a trilateral agreement Türkiye, Sweden and Finland signed in Madrid, which lifted Türkiye’s vetoing on their admission after the two Nordic states assured that they would intensify anti-Türkiye terror groups on their soils, including the PKK, YPG and FETÖ.