İmamoğlu reacts to declaration signed by Hakan Fidan: 'Instead of signing texts written by others...'

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended the Consultative Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Arab and Islamic countries in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The 6-point declaration shared with the public following the talks did not mention the attacks carried out by the US and Israel against Iran, and instead issued a warning to Iran to immediately cease all its attacks.

This approach has sparked varying reactions both in Turkey and among the international public. Some circles argued that calling only on Iran without referencing the actions of the US and Israel creates a one-sided perspective.

İMAMOĞLU CALLS FOR CONSISTENCY IN FOREIGN POLICY

Criticizing the declaration in question, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu stated the following in a post on his social media account:

“It is clear who started the Iran crisis. For this reason, we condemned actions contrary to international law and called on the parties to end the attacks.

In the joint text signed by 12 regional countries in Riyadh and in the subsequent statements, the name of the US is no longer mentioned. References to the war are framed in a way that condemns Iran's attacks and emphasizes the right to self-defense, but those who started the crisis are not mentioned.

If you claim to have a principled foreign policy, you cannot use international law selectively. Iran's attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure are wrong. However, attacks on Iran's sovereignty, civilian infrastructure, and territorial integrity are also unacceptable.

Turkey's foreign policy must be conducted with law, principle, and effective diplomacy. Instead of signing texts written by others, Turkey must be a country capable of taking a consistent stance in line with its own national interests.

A line that shields those who started the war and selectively defends the law causes Turkey to lose credibility.

Unprincipled balance politics is not balance, but drifting.”

News Source: 12punto