Fidan says new ‘Board of Peace’ will gain value as Gaza steps take shape
ANKARA
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the "Board of Peace" meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Jan. 22 that the newly launched “Board of Peace” would prove its worth as it moves from declarations to concrete steps, particularly on humanitarian access to Gaza.
Fidan spoke to reporters after signing the board’s charter at the World Economic Forum in Davos on behalf of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry.
U.S. President Donald Trump rolled out the initiative earlier the same day, saying the body — which he chairs — would work with the United Nations and could eventually take on crises beyond Gaza.
Fidan said Erdoğan has been working to stop what he described as a “massacre and genocide” in Gaza, and argued the new platform could help translate competing positions into negotiated outcomes.
He said the board has already held an initial meeting, where participants discussed steps needed to facilitate humanitarian aid into Gaza. Fidan also said members weighed what early measures should be taken by a Palestinian National Committee tasked with administering the enclave under the initiative.
“As concrete steps are implemented, I believe the Board of Peace will become more valuable,” he said.
Trump has promoted the board as a mechanism to shore up a fragile Gaza ceasefire while expanding its reach more broadly, though questions remain over its mandate and how it would operate alongside existing international bodies.
Gaza's newly appointed administrator said in a video message that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip would reopen in both directions next week.
Then Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, like the president a former property developer, showed slides of what he billed as a "master plan" for Gaza's reconstruction.
They included maps of new settlements and artist renderings of gleaming seafront hotels and apartments under the caption "New Gaza".
"It could be a hope. It could be a destination," Kushner said.
Trump told Hamas to disarm under the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire accord or it would be the "end of them".
'Syria's unity and integrity are important’
Fidan also addressed Syria, saying Türkiye aims to play a “constructive role” while stressing the country’s unity and territorial integrity.
“Syria’s unity and integrity are important to us — first for Syrians themselves, but also for the region,” he said.
After 14 years of civil war, he said Syria could move from a country that “exported terrorism and refugees” into one moving toward unity, the return of refugees and an end to terrorism.
Fidan said the rights of all ethnic and religious groups — including Kurds, Alawites, Yazidis and Turkmens — must be protected, while urging Syrians to unite under a shared national identity and citizenship.
Turning to the wider international landscape, Fidan said Ankara seeks a balanced approach with global powers, placing Türkiye’s interests at the center while pursuing “win-win” policies.
He pointed to rapid shifts in global politics, citing uncertainty around negotiations that followed Trump’s remarks on Greenland and broader security debates. “We don’t know where negotiations will be in six months or how they will evolve,” he said.
Fidan also referred to the Russia-Ukraine war, saying developments around efforts to stop the conflict and pursue peace could reshape Europe and the wider region.
Failing to read such shifts correctly could fuel instability, he warned, but careful calculations could allow states to navigate the turbulence “without harm.”