Minister Fidan reveals details of meeting with Putin, highlights importance of elections in Europe and the US
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statements highlighted the following headlines:
“Since childhood, I have focused on looking at the Turkish national security system as a whole. It has many military and intelligence dimensions. There are unique characteristics to all branches of national security disciplines. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you are involved in more strategic issues than in the MIT. In the MIT, the focus was mainly on operational, counterespionage, and intelligence collection. Now we are in a position to use that information. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, you need a lot of information from both closed and open sources. Mentally, strategically, and from a perspective point of view, the responsibility of the ministry is a bit heavier. On the first day of the holiday, there was the Ukraine Peace Conference in Switzerland. The President had assigned me to that duty. On the second day, I returned and went to kiss my mother’s hand. Even during the holiday, events in international relations do not stop. It requires constant work. I didn’t go anywhere for the holiday, I was here in Ankara.”
“We are negotiating with BRICS member countries”
Especially within the framework of our President’s vision, we have abandoned the issue of axis shift in our policy long ago. We are almost in search of our own interests, principles, and stance. It is also important that our counterparts in the alliances we belong to abide by them. We are closely monitoring alternative economic platforms. What makes BRICS different is the presence of Russia and China there. G-7 is a place where countries that think on the same civilization level gather mostly for political issues. BRICS is an economic platform. It does not have a rule-based, structural form. The nice thing about BRICS compared to the EU is that it encompasses all civilizations, races. If it can become a bit more institutionalized, it can produce significant benefits. Our relations and dialogues with BRICS member countries are very normal. The two countries with the highest foreign trade volume are China and Russia, which are BRICS members. To navigate our country’s foreign policy route more healthily, we need to look at it in this framework. We have relations with BRICS member countries, we are conducting negotiations with them. They are already in the evolutionary process.”
“Dollarization efforts are underway”
A Customs Union, common currency, and free trade agreements are not a place where it takes place. They are working on the credit lending system. They do trade with their local currency among themselves. This is a topic we are a party to. There are efforts for de-dollarization. This is a strategy imposed by politics. We have both EU candidacy and membership in other economic cooperation organizations. It is possible to apply for advanced membership in the vast economic platform of the Asia-Pacific. It should be seen as complementary to other platforms rather than alternative to each other. In the EU, there is a rule-based operation. If we were not in the current state in the course of our relations with the EU, if the EU could put forward the will to advance, in fact, our perspectives on certain issues here could have changed more. There is currently a military alliance issue in NATO. The economic alliance area is also not yet tangibly formed. Therefore, our quest continues.”
The Foreign Minister discussed various issues, including the implications of Turkey’s relations with BRICS countries, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and the challenges posed by right-wing extremism in Europe. He also touched on the importance of addressing the threat of artificial intelligence and the need for high-capacity microprocessors for technological advancement. Additionally, he emphasized the need for diplomatic solutions to conflicts in the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza Strip and Syria. Lastly, he highlighted the potential risks associated with Israel’s actions in the region and the need for international intervention to prevent further escalation of conflicts.
