President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that the defense alliance established between Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had strengthened regional solidarity.
Erdoğan said the structure known as the "Mecca Alliance" was formed with an emphasis on regional ownership, adding that the alliance aims to find solutions to regional problems from within the region.
Conflict in the Gulf
Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue working with the relevant parties to end the conflict and war in the Gulf region, adding that any attempt to spread the fighting to neighboring regions would benefit no one.
Erdoğan recalled that a joint defense agreement was signed in Mecca on August 7 with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Messages on Syria and Iraq
Addressing the situation in Syria, Erdoğan said the country had entered a new phase following 14 years of oppression after the revolution on December 8, 2024. Erdoğan said Syria was moving toward its goal of becoming a secure and peaceful state under the leadership of Ahmed al-Sharaa despite provocations originating both inside and outside the country, and stated that Türkiye would continue to stand by the Syrian people.
Erdoğan said they fully supported efforts to strengthen state authority and consolidate stability in Iraq. He said strategic projects were being developed with Baghdad in transportation and energy to increase the region's prosperity, adding that the Development Road Project was at the forefront of these initiatives.
Russia-Ukraine war and Black Sea security
Commenting on the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdoğan said Türkiye's sincere desire was for the war to end with Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity guaranteed.
Erdoğan said Türkiye would continue contacts with the relevant parties to restore maritime navigation security in the Black Sea, protect food security and prevent the war from spreading to a wider geography. He stressed that the recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Black Sea were unacceptable, regardless of who carried them out.
Russia has continued its military attack against Ukraine since February 24, 2022. While Moscow makes Kyiv's abandonment of joining Western military alliances a condition for ending the attack, Kyiv views this approach as interference in its internal affairs.
