Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan joined on Thursday in Davos (Switzerland) the representatives of the countries that signed the founding charter of the so-called ‘Board of Peace’, an initiative presented by US President Donald Trump with which the American president seems to want to create a parallel organisation to challenge the UN, against which Trump also launched harsh criticism at the forum.
The initiative, initially known as the Gaza Peace Council and originally proposed by Trump with the aim of stopping the war in Gaza and rebuilding the region, has been transformed by the US president into a body with broader aspirations that go beyond Gaza or the Middle East, and that seeks to question the UN’s own role. “We are stopping the war in Gaza,” said Trump before the signing, also assuring that “everyone” wants to be part of his ‘Board of Peace’, while affirming that the conflict “is really coming to an end” despite recognising that there are still “small fires” to put out.
The US President was the first to sign the document during the ceremony in Davos. Hakan Fidan, who attended the Swiss summit on behalf of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then signed the letter. Speaking two days ago, Fidan acknowledged that “the Board may have shortcomings, but having it is a valuable step forward“; the minister also noted that Türkiye appreciates that the invitation has also been extended to countries with which it has close cooperation, such as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan or Azerbaijan, and stressed that the proposal would be evaluated together with partners in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Egypt, as well as with Turkic states and Turkey’s allies in Europe.
In statements reported by the Turkish daily Hürriyet, Fidan also indicated that concrete measures to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza are being discussed, and said that in this regional context “the Board of Peace will be even more valuable, both in terms of humanitarian aid and in other issues”.
Fidan: a “miracle” has been worked in Syria
Referring to the latest developments in Syria, the head of Turkish diplomacy recalled that the neighbouring country has spent the last 14 years immersed in a bloody civil war. In this context, he stressed that for Syria “to go from being a country that exported terrorism and refugees to neighbouring countries, to a Syria that achieves unity, recovers its refugees and curbs terrorism, is a truly miraculous development for our region”.
However, Fidan insisted on the need for the new Syria to protect the rights of all ethnic groups, faiths and communities, especially Kurds, Alawis, Yazidis and Turkmen: “All should be proud of their identity, but also unite under Syrian citizenship and contribute to Syria in every possible way,” he said, referring to the recent clashes between the SDF/YPG and the central government in Damascus over the SDF’s refusal to integrate into Syrian institutions.
Erdoğan: “Turkey will be one of the leading nations in the new world order“
In parallel, Turkish President Erdoğan said on 22 January that Turkey will be one of the leading countries in the new world order and that its economy will be among the most benefited by the current global transition. “Turkey will also overcome this difficult period, and will be one of the countries that will benefit the most from this process. In the reshaping of the world order, Turkey will be one of the leading countries,” he said during a meeting with Turkish businessmen in Ankara.
In this sense, Erdoğan insisted that “the world is slowly moving towards what we have been saying for years” and affirmed that more and more international actors share Turkey’s “criticism of global politics”, in reference to the Turkish president’s well-known slogan that “the world is bigger than five“, with which he has for years criticised the current limitations of the UN Security Council formed after the end of World War II.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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