Turkish President Erdogan to address UN General Assembly on Tuesday

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will address the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

Before departing for New York on Saturday, Erdogan said he will share Türkiye's perspective on issues that are on the agenda of the region and the humanity.

"I will specifically touch on the joint steps that can be taken against the genocide in Gaza and Israel’s aggressive policies," he told reporters.

The president also will draw attention to the need for reform of the global governance mechanisms, especially the UN Security Council.

Erdogan has long pushed for reforms to the UN, often using the slogan “The world is bigger than five,” which refers to the Security Council’s unrepresentative membership.

- Sidelines talks

Earlier on Monday, Erdogan and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met behind closed doors to discuss bilateral relations, Israeli attacks in Palestine, revitalizing Türkiye's EU membership process, and regional and global issues.

Separately, Erdogan met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the first time since being elected in July, following the death of his predecessor Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May.

At the Turkish House, Erdogan hosted new crown prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah, to discuss bilateral relations, regional and global issues.

Erdogan also received International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan at the Turkish House, where the president said Israel is "recklessly making plans to add new massacres to their list, believing that there is no power to stop them."

The president presented him The Evidence and the Witness, photobooks published by Anadolu that expose Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Later, Erdogan attended a roundtable meeting with American and Turkish businesspeople at the 15th Türkiye Investment Conference hosted by the Türkiye-US Business Council (TAİK).

On Sunday, he separately met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Erdogan attended a roundtable with representatives from American think tanks at the Turkish House before addressing an event hosted by the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC).

The president is expected to hold sideline meetings, including with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.