UPDATE 2 - Turkish leader questions efficiency of global system

UPDATES WITH FURTHER REMARKS BY TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish president on Monday called for a change of approach in times when the current global system is failing to respond to crises occurring all around world, especially amid the coronavirus outbreak.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his remarks at the 12th Ambassadors' Conference held in the capital Ankara.

Stressing the existing global system favored a handful of strong actors over righteous masses and rich over poor people, the president said this system could no longer continue and systematic change was needed.

The world came to a new crossroads with the emergence of the outbreak, the president said, noting that international organizations failed to respond to the ongoing crises, which exposed their inertia in the wake of the pandemic.

Erdogan, who had coined "the world is bigger than five" slogan at a UN gathering, said a new establishment based on justice, not power, has to be regulated in order to ensure safety and stability of the common future of human beings.

"The tendency of multi-centricity and regionalization is becoming increasingly important in international relations," Erdogan said, adding the global political and economic arena was reshaped at the time of the outbreak and production and logistic centers were reestablished.

Erdogan went on saying that Turkish administrations failed to make the most of previous window of opportunities both following the World War II and Cold War, however, Ankara was now determined to make use of its geostrategic and historical advantages amid the looming pandemic, which has claimed over 1.25 million lives across the world.

Acting in line with its human-oriented foreign policy, the Turkish government, according to the president, did not turn a blind eye toward people's cry for help across the world as the outbreak escalated.

More than 100,000 Turkish citizens were brought back home from a total of 141 countries in line with Turkey’s evacuation operations.

Another 5,500 foreigners from 67 countries were also evacuated with Turkey's help.

Furthermore, Turkey extended a helping hand to 155 countries and nine international organizations struggling to deal with the burdens of the pandemic, according to Erdogan.

The Turkish aid agency TIKA, Turkish Red Crescent, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, and Turkish Airlines, along with Maarif Foundation and Yunus Emre Institute and relevant ministries all played key roles and worked in harmony while reaching people in need, he asserted.

- Turkish foreign policy

Among the topics Erdogan touched upon were developments in conflict-zones, including Syria where millions were displaced and hundreds of thousands were slaughtered following eruption of a civil war in 2011.

The president said Turkish operations in northern Syria ensured safe return of some 411,000 Syrians as Ankara's military operations cleared the region of YPG/PKK and Daesh/ISIS terrorists.

"We thwarted a new humanitarian tragedy and huge migration influx with our presence in Idlib [province of northwestern Syria]," the president said, adding that Turkey welcomed 4.5 million refugees.

The Turkish leader criticized some countries, without naming any, for not extending a helping hand -- despite their prosperity -- to weary Syrians while Turkey did not hesitate to help them in line with its humanitarian approach.

Erdogan noted that Turkey also continued its efforts to ensure Syria's territorial integrity and political union.

Commenting on developments in Libya, where the administration fights militants affiliated with warlord Khalifa Haftar, Erdogan said Turkey's support to the country on the request of the Libyan government prevented a possible civil war and fall of the capital Tripoli.

Asserting that Turkey's contributions paved the way for hopes of a political solution in Libya, Erdogan said: "We will continue to be with the Libyan people in all fields, including training, military cooperation, energy, health, trade, and economy.

Referring to the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Erdogan said Turkey could not allow anyone to ignore legitimate Turkish rights in the region.

We have always been patient and calm regarding the Eastern Mediterranean issue despite provocations of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, Erdogan said, adding Turkey was always open for negotiations as his country was confident that it was in a righteous position.

The Turkish leader also called on the EU to abandon its "strategic blindness," which he said was pushing Ankara away from the EU and reiterated his call for organizing a multinational conference including all littoral countries along with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean to resolve the dispute. He further noted that Turkey was encouraged by the discovery of 405 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea region and hopeful for new discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The president also said the Turkish administration could not remain silent while Azerbaijan's territories were under occupation as both countries were bonded by blood whereas the MINSK trio -- the US, France and Russia -- had not produced a concrete approach regarding the decades-long conflict.

Fed up with the trio's stalling efforts, Azerbaijan took the matter into its own hands and stepped into action, according to Erdogan, who welcomed Baku's liberation of territories in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Turkish leader said that rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia has transformed into an existential threat for millions of Turkish people residing abroad as their mosques, schools, and shops are targeted on a regular basis.

Fighting against Islamophobia is a necessity of both our faith and responsibility towards our citizens abroad, the president said, adding such a hostile discourse has been even adopted at the presidential level in some countries.

Erdogan also said that it is hard for his country to understand how foreign terrorist fighters Turkey deported could freely walk in Western countries and hold activities.