Turkish parliament speaker Binali Yıldırım
Establishing peace in the world is possible so long as there is cooperation based on “justice and goodwill,” said Turkey’s parliament speaker on Wednesday.
Speaking at the opening of the TRT World Forum, where Anadolu Agency is serving as the global communications partner, Binali Yildirim said: “Realizing a world where everybody lives in peace, tranquility, and trust is possible [so long as] powerful countries forge cooperation based on justice and goodwill.”
The fight against terrorism is the primary area in which cooperation is needed, said Yildirim.
“Terror [groups] should not be financed by any means; arms and money should not be provided,” he added.
Without using its name, Yildirim also blasted the U.S. over its failure to extradite Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
“Everything is clear. He is the one who ordered the coup [attempt in 2016]. We have every kind of document and information but our friends, the country which we know as an ally, stands by idly.”
FETO and Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Turkey has long complained of U.S. slowness in responding to its request for Gulen’s extradition.
Yildirim also said that the EU is not active enough in working to tackle international problems.
“The EU’s approach to the world’s current problems is far from finding solutions,” he said.
The two-day TRT World Forum, entitled “Envisioning Peace and Security in a Fragmented World,” brings together over 600 of the world’s leading opinion leaders, policymakers, academics, and businesspeople.
The “most pressing issues and challenges” across the world will be discussed during the two-day event.
The second edition of an annual international meeting hosted by Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT began in Istanbul on Wednesday with a particular focus on global peace and security.The two-day TRT World Forum, themed "Envisioning Peace and Security in a Fragmented World", brings together over 600 participants including the world’s leading opinion leaders, policymakers, academics and businesspeople from around the world.The "most pressing issues and challenges" across the world will be discussed over the course of two days of the event, where Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner.The participants will also "seek to collectively offer actionable strategies and solutions for a world in disarray", according to the website of the forum.Among the participants are Stef Blok, the Dutch foreign minister; Jordanian Queen Rania Al-Abdullah; Staffan de Mistura, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy to Syria; Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Borge Brende, the president of the World Economic Forum.
Jack Straw, former British secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, Franco Frattini, former Italian foreign minister; Hamid Karzai, former Afghan president; Stefan Fule, former European commissioner for enlargement and European neighborhood policy, and Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran’s former permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, are also among the participants.On the first day, there will be four sessions under the banners, "A World in or Out of Order?: A Hundred Years since WWI", "the EU and Its Discontents: Is it the End of the European Project?", "Disrupting the Established Order: Rise of the Global South", and "the Leadership of Women in a World of Conflict.""International Cooperation against Terrorism", "In Pursuit of Justice in a Fragmented World", and "How Social Media Can Positively Transform Lives?" are the themed sessions for the second day of the event.Parallel to the forum, TRT World will also host the World Citizen Awards, which recognize exceptional individual contributions to humanity on Wednesday.The forum will conclude on Thursday with a keynote address by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
TRT World Forum kicks off in Istanbul
Turkey's ruling party spokesman on Tuesday likened far-right groups in Europe to the Daesh terror group."Europe's Daesh is far-right groups," Justice and Development (AK) Party's spokesman Omer Celik said at a news conference following the party's central committee meeting."The activities of politicians from far-right groups in Europe give room to Daesh [to propagate]," he said, adding that at the same time activities of Daesh terrorists are fodder for far-right groups."What Daesh is to the Middle East is the same as what far-right groups are to Europe," he said.Celik said "some circles" in Germany tried to present a negative image of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent visit to the country."Far-right groups are using a matryoshka doll-like system," Celik said. "They are hiding their hatred for Turkey by hating our president. If you lift that doll, you will see hatred towards Islam. If you lift that doll, you will see anti-semitism."Erdogan's much anticipated three-day visit to Germany commenced on Sept. 27 with a busy agenda on mainly bilateral political and economic issues that aim at normalizing once seriously damaged ties.Celik also described European Parliament's decision to cancel funding meant to help Turkey about refugees as "not democratic, but an ideological one".Last Tuesday, the European Parliament’s Budget Committee said that they are canceling 70 million euros ($82.4 million) funding to Turkey.
Far-right groups Europe's Daesh: Turkey's ruling party