Istanbul Meeting: We Reject Return to War... Solution is Diplomatic

Istanbul – Agencies: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that the eight countries participating in the Istanbul meetings agreed that any renewed attack on Iran would lead to further spread of war and conflict in the region. Istanbul hosted a ministerial meeting on Friday, bringing together eight countries: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy. Following the meetings, which were held in sequence—the first involving the four regional countries (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt), and the second involving all eight ministers—along with bilateral meetings among the participating ministers before and after the main session, Fidan said in a press statement that any military intervention against Iran “is not a solution and currently enjoys no support.” He added that “any new attack on Iran would expand the scope of war and conflict in the region.” Fidan emphasized that all participating countries in the negotiations do not wish for the war to widen and support an immediate end to hostilities and a ceasefire in both the Gulf and Ukraine, noting the importance of this issue and that all countries agreed that diplomacy and dialogue are the only way forward. He said, “Certainly, this is of paramount importance. We have decided to convey this message to all parties in the same manner. We agree that any new attack on Iran will inevitably lead to further expansion of war and conflict in the region, and therefore we have reached near-consensus that choosing dialogue and diplomacy is the optimal path.” The Turkish minister stressed the importance of the participating countries reaching a consensus and sending a unified message to the world, stating, “Certainly, the Strait of Hormuz must be opened as soon as possible to eliminate its negative impact on markets, but military intervention in Iran is not a solution at all; no one currently supports this option.” On another note, Fidan called for an end to attacks on Saudi Arabia, noting that how to achieve this through diplomatic channels was discussed in detail during the meeting, considering the gathering, in terms of its agenda and location, to be among the most important diplomatic events in recent months. Fidan clarified that the key point affirmed at the meeting was the agreement among all parties that dialogue is the only solution. The criteria for resolving the Strait of Hormuz issue without escalating the war and causing further destruction were also discussed, and he expressed confidence in the validity of this model in terms of its structure and implementation. Regarding the Russian war on Ukraine, Fidan pointed out that the consensus among all parties is the need to implement a ceasefire and a peace agreement based on it in Ukraine as soon as possible.