Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun issued a written statement following the meeting which was held closed to the press and lasted about 2.5 hours.

Altun stated that foreign policy developments, particularly with regard to the Eastern Mediterranean, Libya, and Syria, had been discussed during the meeting, and that the members of the Presidential High Advisory Board shared their experiences, expertise, and opinions. 

Altun noted that the Board members elaborated on developments in the new period as well as discussing the opportunities and challenges facing Turkish foreign policy in the future, and continued as follows:

During the meeting, it was noted that the incidents of the last four years had a different meaning for Turkish foreign policy and emphasized that Turkey, which had taken a passive stance with the exception of a few small leaps for years, began to pursue a foreign policy in line with its priorities, needs, and plans for the first time. It was stated during the Presidential High Advisory Board Meeting that Turkey’s operations in Syria had ruined games on a global scale rather than in its own region alone while its agreements with Libya had blown up scenarios against itself in the Eastern Mediterranean, and noted that it was very important to formulate a new strategy built on dominance on the ground in counter-terrorism operations in the north of Iraq.

Altun stated that during the meeting, it was indicated that after 2002, Turkey undertook an initiative for all territories, from Africa to South America, with which it had poor relations and that Turkey had slowly started to reap the fruits of these efforts that took years.

Stating that it was highlighted during the meeting that Turkey now ranked the fifth in the world among the countries with the broadest network of representation thanks to its enterprising and humanitarian foreign policy and it was also the country that hosted the highest number of refugees in the world, Altun noted the following:

During the Presidential High Advisory Board meeting, it was discussed that keeping away from some tensions was not possible when you gained the power to act independently and actively in foreign politics. It was also underlined in the meeting that Turkey had the capacity, wisdom, and resolution to overcome all issues through its political, diplomatic, and military means. It was indicated during the meeting that Turkey, which advanced to the highest league in the international platform, had become a country whose statements, stance, and side were taken into consideration and the other countries positioned themselves accordingly. It was said that this put additional responsibilities on the shoulders of Turkey. It was pointed out that it was necessary to work harder, lead, and become a political and de facto playmaker everywhere with a shared civilization and history.

Board members İsmail Kahraman, Bülent Arınç, Cemil Çiçek, Köksal Toptan, Mehmet Ali Şahin, Yıldırım Akbulut, Director of Administrative Affairs of the Presidency Metin Kıratlı, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun and Chief of Cabinet of the Presidency Hasan Doğan also attended the meeting. (ILKHA)