Turkish leader to United Nations: Be ’much more influential’

UNITED NATIONS

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 20 for the first face-to-face talks between Israeli and Turkish leaders since 2008.

Lapid said he “commended’’ the recent restoration of full diplomatic ties between the countries and the appointment this week of a new Israeli ambassador to Türkiye, the office of Israeli prime minister said.

Lapid thanked President Erdoğan for intelligence cooperation at the time of Iran’s “attempts to carry out terrorist attacks” on Turkish soil, said his office.

The Israeli prime minister also brought up the issue of missing and captive Israelis, and the importance of bringing them home.

The two leaders discussed economic and energy cooperation between Israel and Türkiye, as well as regional developments, said the statement.

Lapid positively noted the restoration of Israeli flights to Türkiye and said this step will contribute greatly to strengthening tourism between the nations.

Türkiye and Israel stepped up for the full restoration of diplomatic ties following years of strained relations. In May, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu became the first Turkish foreign minister to visit Israel in 15 years. Erdoğan described a fence-mending visit to Ankara by Israeli President Isaac Herzog in March as “a turning point in our relations.”

The ties between the two nations have long been suffering in the past decade, first due to the “One Minute” crisis in Davos and later the killing of 10 Turks by the Israeli commandos in an incident dubbed the Mavi Marmara crisis in 2010.

Türkiye and Israel had withdrawn their envoys in 2018 after the latter’s security forces killed scores of civilian Palestinians protesting the United States’ decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On Aug. 17, the two sides announced that they will soon appoint ambassadors to each other countries for a full normalization of ties.

Erdoğan calls on international community to end Ukrainian war

Türkiye is making efforts to end the Ukrainian conflict President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 20 and called on the international community to give support for the peace efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war.

“We will continue to increase our efforts to end the war, which has been reignited in recent days, based on the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine. I hereby call upon international organizations and all countries to provide genuine support to Türkiye’s efforts towards establishing a lasting peace,” he said addressing the U.N. General Assembly.

Elaborating on Türkiye’s fight against the YPG members in Syria, Erdoğan said no one can expect Ankara to remain indifferent to the PKK and its affiliates. He indirectly called on the United States to stop supporting the YPG in Syria.

“We call on those trying to legitimize this terrorist organization with cheap tricks, such as changing its name, to stop arming and supporting terrorists without delay, and to reverse their wrong course,” he stated.

“We strongly reiterate that it is within our power to take all kinds of measures against terrorism and that we will never hesitate to do what is necessary against terrorist organizations,” he added.

Erdoğan stressed that Greece is increasing the extent of “cruelty” against immigrants in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.

“It is high time for Europe and the institutions of the United Nations to say ‘stop’ to these acts without mercy that constitute crimes against humanity,” he stated.

President Erdoğan also met with President Gianni