Erdogan Backs Peace, Development In Afghanistan At ECO Summit
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Türkiye supports security, peace and development in Afghanistan, calling the country an “important” regional partner.
Addressing the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit, Erdogan also renewed his criticism of what he described as Israel’s increasingly “aggressive policies,” warning that they threaten regional stability.
“We can neither abandon the Palestinian cause nor remain silent while the Netanyahu government turns our region into a bloodbath,” he told assembled leaders.
The summit, held in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, gathered the presidents of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, along with Pakistan’s prime minister. Climate-change cooperation topped the agenda.
Abdul Ghani Baradar, deputy prime minister for economic affairs in Afghanistan’s Taliban administration, attended the meeting, marking the first high-level Taliban representation at an ECO summit in four years.
