Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made remarkable statements related to the latest developments during a live A Haber broadcast.
Touching upon the Peacekeeping Force to be established in Gaza, Minister Fidan said, "If the necessary conditions are met, Türkiye is ready to shoulder responsibility in Gaza."
Highlights from Minister Fidan's statements are as follows:
"Türkiye, under the leadership of our President, who was invited to the White House. Türkiye has become a sought-after actor. At the UN, our President met with Trump, along with other leaders of Muslim countries. Later, our President was hosted at the White House. In those meetings, serious issues concerning the relations between the two countries were discussed. The war in Ukraine continues to our north; this is important for both Türkiye and the US. Our relationship with Iran is important in many respects, while the US has its nuclear problems. Then there is the Syria dossier... A certain common understanding needs to be established on these topics. The most crucial point is the Gaza issue. Issues, that are stuck, need to be resolved, and need to be reviewed.
Türkiye's efforts in Syria, the struggle it has waged, the effort put forth to ensure the legitimacy of the new administration, are on a scale rarely seen in the international arena. There is nothing more normal than Türkiye being there. The biggest difference in Türkiye's foreign policy is its effort to want for other countries in the region what it wants for itself, and to advance this together. It is important to have a consensus with the key actors.
This needs to be advanced within a certain common understanding. There is a specific mechanism created under the pretext of fighting DAESH (ISIS). Rolling this back in a way that benefits all actors requires a certain amount of patience. The talks between Damascus and the YPG are important. Our biggest, number one issue is to remove Israel from being a threat to Syria. We expect the talks the YPG is conducting with Damascus to evolve to a certain point.
Firstly, in principle, our Commander-in-Chief, our President, is the authority to give the order. If the necessary conditions are met, Türkiye is ready to shoulder responsibility in Gaza. Türkiye will do its part in all matters, including sending troops. This is the clearest message we have given to the international community.
On September 25, when our President and Mr. Trump met at the White House, Mr. Trump stated his will. His respect for our President, his trust... meaning, without even thinking twice, he said this CAATSA is something that shouldn't be between us. We need to lift this. He also gave this instruction to his own bureaucracy.
We have a problem area there. CAATSA, as you know, is a law passed by Congress. And this law... when I sometimes talk to my colleague Marco Rubio, he says: "I was a senator," he says, "I was on the side passing laws. Now I've become a practitioner, I've come to the administration side. I am the Secretary of State. The President gave me an instruction, saying 'implement this.' I now go back and look at the text. My goodness, we've written such a text, designed so the administration can't budge."
What they call 'locking the system.' He says, 'we've locked everything in with such a text so the administration can't budge.' Now here, of course, as they say, 'remedies are never exhausted in democracies,' and in our relations, as long as the intention is good, the search for a remedy is never exhausted. On this issue, Inshallah (God willing), our President also has some solutions he has put his will behind. We will share those with the public when the time comes. But what is important is this: America, unlike Biden, has the intention to resolve this. Mr. Trump has given an instruction on this matter, he has shown his will. This issue is being monitored. We are also monitoring it. Inshallah, we will resolve it as soon as possible."
