Türkiye is making significant efforts to establish peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the time has come to conclude a regional security pact, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a roundtable with editors at Anadolu Agency in Ankara.
Fidan noted that Ankara’s active steps to prevent escalation in the region are also evident in the diplomatic sphere, including efforts to shape a balance among regional and global actors.
“Any change in the situation and instability in the region inevitably affects Türkiye, which is why Ankara must maintain a state-level strategic vision of developments in different parts of the world, including the South Caucasus,” he said.
FM also stated that if energy projects previously supported by Türkiye had been implemented, the current crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz would have had less severe consequences.
As an example, Fidan cited an initiative to build a gas pipeline from Qatar through Saudi Arabia and Syria to Türkiye, which he said could have served as “a model for a new regional energy architecture.”
He also highlighted an initiative proposed by Baghdad and supported by Ankara to create an energy supply route from Iraq toward Türkiye. However, he noted that these projects have not been realised, with one of the main reasons being a lack of trust among neighbouring countries.
“I believe the time has come to conclude a regional security pact,” Fidan said, adding that under such a framework, Middle Eastern countries should affirm respect for each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security as a foundation for regional cooperation.
