Palestinian cause took center stage at UN General Assembly: Turkish President Erdogan

ISTANBUL 

Türkiye's president on Monday underlined the prominence of the Palestinian cause at last week’s UN meeting in New York, saying: "Despite Israel's efforts to block it, the Palestinian cause left its mark on the 80th UN General Assembly."

Excepting a few countries, "almost no one wants to stand alongside Israel or be seen in a photo with the (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an address to the nation after a Cabinet meeting.

In his address to the UN General Assembly, Erdogan said he had underlined the Israeli atrocities in Gaza, “which have gone beyond genocide and evolved into mass slaughter,” he recounted.

“It is clearly seen that what we’re witnessing is not a state's reasoned governance, but rather a massacre team that thrives on blood and chaos,” he added.

He said that he had urged the global community to take action against the “barbaric acts Israel is committing against the Palestinian people.”

In his UN speech, Erdogan also addressed the Turkish Cypriot cause, he said.

“Based on the reality that there are two separate states and two separate peoples on the island, we renewed our call for recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he added.

Hailing the number of countries recognizing Palestine soaring to 158, Erdogan said that "as a leading country in this struggle, we are very pleased."

Going forward, recognition must be given its full meaning, by working to establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he added.

“Otherwise the move will be incomplete -- and that is exactly Israel’s goal,” he added.

Tel Aviv’s policy of annexing the West Bank and depopulating Gaza aim to erase any chance of a free Palestinian state, with the ultimate aim of implementing a “Greater Israel project,” he said.

I must state this clearly and without hesitation: Türkiye is currently one of the biggest obstacles to both of these projects,” he declared.

Palestine conference

Touching on last week’s Palestine conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, Erdogan said Türkiye “clearly and firmly registered our stance by participating” in it.

Türkiye firmly stands with the Palestinian people defending their land, freedom, and dignity, he reiterated.

"Although delayed, recognition of the state of Palestine by two Security Council members carries paramount importance," he added, referring to Britain and France.

"Almost everyone knows that Netanyahu, increasingly cornered by corruption investigations, is dragging the region and the world into chaos just to hold onto his seat," said Erdogan.

Emphasizing that the meeting on Gaza, attended by US President Donald Trump and regional leaders, was “extremely productive,” Erdogan said that it addressed steps that can be taken by leaders to halt the bloodshed in Gaza.

“At the Climate Summit, we spoke about the policies and reforms we have implemented in line with our 2053 Net Zero Emissions target. On the sidelines of the General Assembly, we also held bilateral meetings with representatives from many countries, including Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Indonesia, France, Canada, and Vietnam. We also met with the president of the European Commission and the secretary-general of the UN,” he added.

Meeting with Trump

On his White House meeting last week with US President Trump, President Erdogan said: "I believe we will all see positive outcomes of the meeting in the coming days.”

Calling the meeting “productive, fruitful, and content-rich,” Erdogan said the meeting addressed bilateral relations, trade, energy, and defense industry issues in “a friendly environment.”

He said they discussed steps to be taken to reach the $100 billion trade target set together during Trump’s first term.

President Erdogan underlined that the Gaza massacre, Israel’s escalating aggression, the Russia-Ukraine war, and developments in the region were top issues during the meeting.

He said the meeting also addressed issues related to maintaining stability in Syria and establishing a peaceful environment in the Middle East.