ISTANBUL

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that a new geopolitical order is emerging with Türkiye at its center, as global dynamics shift and regional power balances are redrawn.

“Our world is changing, the old order is crumbling, a brand-new equation is being established in our geography with Türkiye at its center,” Erdogan said at the Organization Academy Leadership School in Ankara.

Erdogan also noted that he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his delegation at the presidential complex in Ankara, where they discussed efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

“We discussed efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war with a just peace,” he said.

Earlier, Zelenskyy arrived in Türkiye's capital Ankara for a meeting with Erdogan ahead of expected Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

“Out of respect for President Trump and Erdogan, I have decided to send our delegation to Istanbul now … The delegation will be headed by the minister of defense,” Zelenskyy told journalists in Ankara after the meeting.

The bilateral meeting and the inter-delegation working lunch, held behind closed doors at the Presidential Complex, lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes.

The closed-door meeting was also attended by Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, National Intelligence Organization head Ibrahim Kalin, and Akif Cagatay Kilic, chief presidential advisor on foreign policy and security.

In his speech, Erdogan also spoke about Wednesday’s four-way with US President Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The Turkish president attended the meeting via videoconference.

In recent days, the Turkish president added, he also spoke over the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The Turkish president said he will travel to Albania on Thursday to attend the European Political Community meeting.

PKK's dissolution

Speaking on the PKK’s recent announcement to disband and lay down arms, Erdogan called it a step toward ending decades of violence.

“We welcome it as a step toward indefinitely ending a 40-year scourge and ensuring lasting peace in our region,” he said.

The Turkish president said that the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) would “closely monitor” the group’s disarmament process and emphasized a calm approach toward those who “fully abandon terrorism and violence.”

Erdogan also underlined Ankara’s firm stance on border security, saying Türkiye has “never tolerated terror groups on our borders with Iraq or Syria, and never will.”

The Turkish president said geography and history have tightly bound Turks, Kurds and Arabs in a way that cannot be undone.

“If we act together, we become a major force,” Erdogan said, adding that such unity would bring peace, stability and prosperity to the region.

He accused imperialist powers of long seeking to divide the region through a strategy of “divide, conquer and rule.”

Declaring a shift in regional dynamics, he added: “The era of using terrorism in our region is over and the era of relying on foreign actors is over.”

In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, infants and the elderly. The PKK/YPG is PKK’s Syrian branch.