UNITED NATIONS – Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yılmaz has called on the international community to take swift and determined steps to preserve the two-state solution and recognize the State of Palestine, emphasizing that “the greatest obstacle to Palestinian statehood is the ongoing occupation.”
Yılmaz co-chaired a working group session titled “Safeguarding the Two-State Solution” alongside Ireland, held as part of a high-level international conference at the United Nations focused on finding a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue.
Speaking during the session, Yılmaz welcomed France’s recent declaration of intent to recognize the State of Palestine, expressing hope that more countries would follow suit. “There is a strong will to contribute to ending the decades-long suffering of the Palestinian people,” he noted.
The working group discussed efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Palestinian Authority and emphasized that the ongoing occupation was a widely shared concern among participants.
Yılmaz also highlighted the urgency of the situation, pointing to Israel’s continued illegal settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, land seizures, and home demolitions. These developments, he stressed, require immediate international intervention.
“Israel must be held accountable as an actor promoting illegal settlements. The forced displacement, deportation, and exile of Palestinians must be halted without delay. There can be no Palestinian state without a Palestinian nation,” he declared.
The session identified several priority areas, including:
- Implementation of the two-state solution
- Recognition of the State of Palestine and its admission to the United Nations as a full member
- Humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Gaza
- Institutional development and rule of law
- Cessation of settlement expansion and forced displacement
- Accountability mechanisms under international law
- Engagement of civil society and provision of security guarantees for both peoples
“To uphold the vision of a two-state solution and protect legal and humanitarian principles, we must act decisively beyond mere expressions of concern,” Yılmaz urged.
Yılmaz Condemns Israeli Aggression in Syria at UN Security Council
In a separate address at the UN Security Council session on the Situation in the Middle East, Deputy Minister Yılmaz condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Syria, particularly in the Suwayda region.
He stressed the importance of reducing tensions and preventing civilian casualties, calling on the international community to support the Syrian government’s efforts to restore calm. Yılmaz blamed Israel for destabilizing actions that undermine Syrian sovereignty, citing recent airstrikes on the presidential complex and Ministry of Defense.
Yılmaz praised Syria’s recent progress in national reconciliation and refugee return efforts, saying the government has made “concrete steps to unite all components of Syrian society on the basis of equal citizenship.”
Addressing actors who may exploit instability in Suwayda, Yılmaz warned that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) appeared to be among those drawing “the wrong conclusions” from the unrest.
“No one should be encouraged to exploit weaknesses in order to divide or fragment Syria,” he said, reaffirming Turkey’s support for Syria’s territorial integrity and reconstruction process.
“We must ensure that the failed state of old Syria, associated with instability, terrorism, and mass migration, remains a thing of the past,” Yılmaz concluded.
