AA photo.
The Turkish top diplomat has said the United States should use its influence on Israel in a more efficient way for the sake of regional peace and stability, reiterating Ankara’s call for the full implementation of a Gaza peace deal led by U.S. President Donald Trump.
At a panel titled “Türkiye-U.S. Relations on the Eve of the Centennial” in New York on Sept. 21, Fidan explained Türkiye’s stance on general foreign policy issues, including the conflict in the Middle East and the Russian occupation of Ukraine.
In his address, Fidan cited Israel’s destabilizing policies across the region through constant attacks against Gaza, Lebanon and Syria especially and amid continued conflicts in Iran, Yemen and elsewhere.
“These threats reinforce one another and obstruct diplomacy. Addressing them requires effective regional responsibility and close cooperation with the U.S. In particular, we expect the U.S. to make greater use of its influence over Israel to bring an end to policies that undermine both regional and global peace and stability,” Fidan stressed.
Gaza remains a central test of the shared capacity to establish security, cooperation and prosperity in the region and beyond as the continued genocide of Palestinians has deeply wounded the global conscience and undermined the rules-based system, the minister said.
Fidan recalled Türkiye’s support for Trump’s efforts to bring the Gaza crisis to an end and stressed the need for the immediate fulfillment of the commitments set out in the peace plan.
Regional ownership essential for stability
He said that Türkiye has long been seeking to establish the principle of “regional ownership," through which the regional powers can tackle their own problems without foreign intervention.
“[The Mecca Alliance] is something we have been considering for the past five or six years, but it took time to convince countries. I think these countries have also learned lessons during this process. They now understand the importance of regional cooperation and solidarity,” he said.
Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as the founding nations of the Mecca Pact, have developed a road map to institutionalize it so that other willing countries can also join.
On a question about the role of the Mecca Alliance in the face of the Iran-backed Houthis' attack on Saudi Arabia, Fidan recalled that NATO used its Article 5 only once since it was founded in 1949.
“No one criticizes NATO for being a ‘paper tiger,' but when it comes to a newly established defense alliance, they point to a 10-year crisis — the Yemen crisis — and say, ‘Look, it doesn’t work.’ We have only just begun,” Fidan said.
One-hundred years of Turkish-American ties
As the Turkish-American bilateral relations will mark 100th anniversary in 2027, Fidan stressed on the importance and value of these ties between the two allies.
“The exceptional relationship between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump is playing a central role in the current momentum,” he noted, adding it was time to translate this momentum into tangible gains.
Cooperation in the field of defense industry and security, Fidan underlined that the two countries need to remove all restrictions that limit this cooperation, referring to CAATSA sanctions on Türkiye due to the deployment of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.
“We must resolve ongoing issues and remove restrictions that limit our cooperation. Such restrictions have no place between two allies. Our presidents have demonstrated strong political will to translate their shared understanding into concrete results.”
On a question about Türkiye’s potential return to the F-35 joint fighter program, Fidan reminded that the issue was raised during Trump’s meeting with Erdoğan in Ankara in July.
“So our work is ongoing. What is encouraging is that there is political will and everyone is making an intensive effort. The process is simply taking a little longer than we expected,” he stated.
In the meantime, Fidan also held bilateral and multilateral meetings in New York. He attended the 6th meeting the R4 group composed of Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. He later attended a coordination meeting of the Group of Eight with the participation of his counterparts from Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
