Istanbul to host next year’s inter-parliamentary assembly

Istanbul will host the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) next year, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş announced during a press briefing at the U.N.’s Geneva headquarters.

“It will be a great honor for us, as Türkiye, to have these people, the parliamentarians around the world, in Istanbul,” Kurtulmuş said Wednesday, confirming that the hosting agreement had just been signed.

The announcement came during an Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations news briefing in Geneva, where Kurtulmuş was attending this week’s Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, organized by the IPU.

The IPU’s 151st Assembly will also take place in Geneva on Oct. 19-23 with the theme of upholding humanitarian norms and supporting humanitarian action in times of crisis.

Gaza genocide

At the briefing, Kurtulmuş described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “the biggest genocide in modern times.”

He accused Israel of deliberately using famine as a weapon and criticized the international community, particularly the U.N., for its failure to act.

“We are gathered at the U.N. facility premises today, and I’d like to ask, where is the United Nations today?” he said. “If they cannot prevent the danger of 40,000 babies dying due to hunger, then what good are they for?”

Calling for immediate international intervention, he added: “The most immediate action that is needed today is stopping Israel as soon as possible.”

He also pointed to a growing shift in the global political landscape, noting that even countries traditionally supportive of Israel are beginning to change their stance.

“Even those countries that so far always appeared to provide support to Israel in an unquestionable way, that have sided with Israel with no questions asked, started to say that ‘what you are doing in Gaza is a genocide, you have to end it, and if you do not end it, then we will recognize Palestine,'” he said.

Taking a question from Anadolu Agency (AA), Kurtulmuş elaborated on Türkiye’s effort to build a global parliamentary platform, the Group of Parliaments in Support of Palestine.

He said they had invited all national parliaments to join the initiative during the parliament speakers’ meeting this week.

The initiative held its first meeting in Istanbul, and according to Kurtulmuş, it was “quite fruitful” thanks to in-depth discussions.

Kurtulmuş expressed hope that the platform would expand beyond Muslim or Middle Eastern countries to include parliaments from Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

He added that the “common voice that is rising on the streets, reflecting the beliefs of humanity,” should also be reflected in legislative bodies, emphasizing that there is “a lot to do in this regard.”

Additionally, he noted that Israel’s military campaign extends far beyond Gaza and accused it of violating the sovereignty of multiple neighboring countries.

“They have bombarded Lebanon so far. They have bombarded Yemen so far, Syria also, Iran also,” he said. “But no matter how aggressive they are or how they act, I believe they are wise enough not to mess with Türkiye.”

He said Israel’s actions reflect a long-term ambition to divide and destabilize the region under the so-called “Promised Land” doctrine and that global public opinion is increasingly turning against these efforts, even in countries that have long supported Israel.

Russia-Ukraine talks

On the war in Ukraine, Kurtulmuş stressed that Türkiye has maintained communication with both Kyiv and Moscow from the very beginning and continues to pursue shuttle diplomacy between the two sides.

“Since the beginning of this war, Türkiye has always been one of the rare countries in the world that was able to maintain dialogue with both countries,” he said.

He told how delegations from Russia and Ukraine came together in Istanbul in March 2022 – just after the war started – and signed a draft agreement but were ultimately unable to finalize it.

“When the time came for them to sign the actual final peace agreement, they were not able to settle in peace, since certain countries did not side with peace and they wanted the process to continue,” said Kurtulmuş.

Kurtulmuş underlined that Türkiye believes a resolution is only possible through direct talks that produce a “fair and acceptable” peace.

“The way to peace is a fair one, not an imposed one,” he said, adding that Türkiye had continued its efforts through three more meetings in Istanbul since this June.

He voiced hope that a fourth round of talks would bring presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine and Vladimir Putin of Russia to Istanbul to “pave the way for a permanent peace between the two nations.”

“Personally, speaking, I am rather optimistic in this regard, because every war comes to an end, every conflict comes to an end … and no matter what happens, there are no winners in wars, and it’s the people, it’s the nations that lose all the time due to wars and due to conflicts.”

The parliament speaker also criticized Western sanctions on Russia.

“Blockades and embargoes never prevail and never yield results … these kinds of practices do not stop the regimes or do not penalize the regimes. Instead, they penalize the civilians, the people.”

On Syria, he called for a political solution that guarantees the rights of all ethnic and religious groups and safeguards the country’s territorial integrity.

“People coming from different backgrounds in Syria should be able to gather under one single flag and act as members of this one single nation,” he said, warning against both internal remnants of the ousted Bashar Assad regime and foreign interference that threaten to undermine stability.

Istanbul as peace hub

Kurtulmuş said Türkiye’s neutral stance had helped make Istanbul a hub for international negotiations, not only on Ukraine but also on other global conflicts.

“We are quite pleased to see that Istanbul is becoming a center of negotiations,” he said. “This is thanks to the neutral and structuring role that Türkiye is assuming so far.”

He underlined the unique role of parliaments in diplomacy, saying legislative channels can act more flexibly than governments in promoting peace.

“Parliaments are more advantageous to make progress in peace talks,” he said, noting active dialogue with both the Ukrainian and Russian Parliaments.

Kurtulmuş also said rising global awareness – both on the streets and in legislative institutions – could help shift the balance toward justice and lasting peace.