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.

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.

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.”

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.