Erdoğan calls for ceasefire momentum, warns of wider conflicts in Mideast

ANTALYA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 17 urged world powers to capitalize on the fragile ceasefire between Iran and the United States, warning that failure to reform the international system could lead to wider conflicts.

“The window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire must be seized,” Erdoğan said at the opening of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, adding that global actors should not allow diplomacy to collapse back into confrontation.

“No matter how deep the disagreements may be, weapons must not be allowed to replace words again, and bloody conflict must not be allowed to replace negotiations in resolving them,” he said at the high-level gathering in the Mediterranean resort city, stressing the need for sustained negotiations over military escalation.

Erdoğan also issued warnings about regional flashpoints, saying, “We must not allow Israel to be dynamited,” in reference to escalating tensions in the Middle East and ongoing conflict dynamics involving Israel and its neighbors.

Addressing global energy security concerns regarding the situation of the Strait of Hormuz, he added, "If one side of Hormuz is Iran, the other is Oman. The Gulf states' right to access the open seas should not be restricted. The main goal is to ensure freedom of navigation based on established rules and to keep Hormuz open to commercial vessels."

He painted a bleak picture of the global order, saying, “The world is in a slum crisis,” and argued that the current international system is failing to manage rising instability.

“If the system is not reformed, bigger conflicts will come,” Erdoğan warned, calling for structural changes to global governance to prevent further escalation of wars and crises.

"To see the scale of the crisis, one only needs to look at Gaza after Oct. 7 [2023]. Mechanisms tasked with protecting human rights and global security remain ineffective, and often indifferent, in the face of the most severe attacks," he said.

"To view what is happening in Gaza solely as a humanitarian tragedy is insufficient. The genocide in Gaza clearly demonstrates what the current system allows."

The diplomacy forum brings together diplomats, leaders and policymakers from dozens of countries amid overlapping global crises, including wars, fragile ceasefires and rising geopolitical rivalry.

Erdoğan used his address to position Türkiye as a mediator in regional disputes, emphasizing dialogue, de-escalation and sustained diplomatic engagement over military confrontation.