Erdogan Calls for UN Reform Amid Middle East Diplomacy
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged UN Security Council reform and coordinated with regional powers to address Middle East stability during the 81st UN General Assembly.
During the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed Türkiye's call for the reform of the UN Security Council, arguing that the 1945 institutional architecture fails to reflect the modern distribution of power. He advocated for the Global South and criticized the United States for denying a visa to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Parallel to these calls for structural reform, Erdogan and other regional powers, including the Gulf Cooperation Council, coordinated efforts to shape the international agenda on Middle East stability. This diplomatic push focused on the US-Iran war, Houthi maritime attacks, and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Foreign ministers from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, and Pakistan issued a joint statement on Gaza to signal regional unity.
High-level discussions also took place between US President Donald Trump and representatives from Türkiye, the GCC, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon regarding energy supplies and postwar arrangements. The diplomatic tension was highlighted by a mass walkout from the General Assembly during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, following Netanyahu's own targeting of Erdogan in his address.
