Turkish President addresses UN General Assembly

Speaking at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, President Abdullah Gul said, "We all need a strong, efficient, and credible UN, which fits for purpose in the face of current global realities. The UN of which I speak should be a body capable of taking action to maintain international peace and security. It should be able to safeguard security, justice, and people's fundamental rights and freedoms. It should never forfeit its prime responsibility for the sake of power politics. We must realize that inaction by the Security Council only emboldens aggressive regimes. We need a UN capable of forcing the perpetrators of brutal actions to submit to justice and the rule of law." Only through such a UN, Gul added, can we achieve the truly peaceful world envisioned by this institution's founders and said as much as this remains a noble goal; it is also an urgent necessity. Noting that no issue is more pressing than the situation in Syria, Gul said, "Turkey welcomes and firmly supports the US-Russian agreement to eliminate Syria's arsenal of chemical weapons. That agreement has to be translated into a tangible UN Security Council resolution. Once Syria comes clean about this arsenal, once and for all, it will be a relief for the Syrian people and the region. As Syria's neighbor, Turkey will appreciate more than most the complete and verifiable destruction of these weapons." Stressing that there has to be a sound strategy with well-defined and well-calculated objectives for a peaceful solution, Gul added, "It has to aim to end Syria's civil war, ensuring the immediate safety and security of the Syrian people, and the country's stable transition. The enforcement of such a strategy requires a fully determined, committed, and robust international engagement: exactly what has been missing since the beginning of the conflict."