Erdogan: "There has been no axis shift in Turkish foreign policy"

Peace cannot be established in the Middle East when the suffering of the Palestinians continues and the Gaza Strip remains a wreck, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday. Speaking at the opening of the Istanbul Forum, held by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in cooperation with the Center for Strategic Communication (Stratim) and the US-based German Marshall Fund to explore ways to ensure security in the Middle East, Erdogan said the Palestinian question is at the center of all the region's problems. Citing Turkey's vocal disapproval of last year's bombing of the Gaza Strip, he added, "We criticized steps that served no purpose, but instead increased suffering and sabotaged the peace process. We will continue to criticize them today, too. We will criticize anything similar taking place in other areas." Saying that the better part of a year has passed since Israel's offensive in Gaza, Erdogan said the tragedy continues because reconstruction materials have not been permitted into the devastated region so that rebuilding can begin. “We cannot ignore this tragedy. The blockade on Gaza should be lifted as soon as possible," he said. Dismissing claims that Turkish foreign policy has seen an axis shift in recent years, Erdogan said there had been no such shift, adding that the international community should uphold its commitments, which would benefit not only Palestinians, but also Israelis. "I do not say this just because I am Muslim. I say this because I am human and because of my humanitarian approach," he stated. Touching on Turkey's policy of zero problems with its neighbors along with its efforts in a number of areas to bring peace, Erdogan said, "Our intention is to use our experience for regional and global peace. Our constructive attitude on the Cyprus issue, approach to the Armenian issue, and efforts to normalize dialogue with Iraq, Iran and Syria are concrete signals of our peaceful policies. The Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and the European Union, in particular, should benefit from Turkey's experiences and its contributions to global peace." Erdogan also urged countries around the globe to work for a new world order to resolve longstanding problems.