Peace is abundance. Peace is vitality, comfort, prosperity. Talking, agreeing, meeting on the same ground and common ground, building the future together instead of fighting is life, hope. No matter how difficult the conditions are, no matter how vicious and destructive they are, listening, trying to understand, expressing the problems correctly and looking for solutions is civilization, it is showing a sincere resistance against death and blood. As the Roman statesman Cicero said, “The worst peace is better than the most just war”.
Russia’s occupation of many parts of Ukraine, which dates back to 2014 but has intensified since February 24, 2022, has now completed a year and a half. The only truth that the passing time has brought us and taught us is the lives lost, cities destroyed and turned into rubble, innocent civilians who have lost their relatives, children who have lost hope by becoming orphans and orphans, young people who have become crippled, people whose lives have been turned upside down by losing their children and spouses, and entire civilizations whose peace and future expectations have been destroyed. The saddest thing is that we are not watching this movie for the first time. When we put the compass in the center of our country and turn it 360 degrees, we can almost say that there is almost no neighbor who has not fallen into this situation in the last 20 years. Our country is a peace basin in the midst of masses of people who are surrounded by fire, whose neighbors have been subjected to great suffering, where brother kills brother without mercy, but when years pass and they question their actions, they cannot understand how they made this mistake. We are members of a state and a nation that has undertaken the duty of Ansar by far exceeding its own capacity and showing great sacrifices in the face of millions of migration waves. That is why today, Turkey is the only country that approaches the relentless war between our northern neighbors Ukraine and Russia with the most sincere, friendly, pragmatic, sincere and human-first approach. We are the only country that, without any interest, benefit or expectation, acts only and only with the slogan of peace and tries to unite the parties to the war around a table and create a basis for an agreement. Turkey, which has learned the lessons from the pain of the past, knows well that there will be no gain from these destructions, and therefore has been addressing the issue with a great friendliness and friendship approach from the very first day of the war, is the country that will make the most important contribution to the end of this bickering on a world scale. That is why we have a Turkey that can communicate openly with both Russia and Ukraine and maintain transparent relations with both warring countries. There is a Turkey that knows that this senseless war, like every other war, will not bring anything to anyone, and is trying to bring the parties together on the same axis with all its efforts. Today, all friends and enemies appreciate and applaud Turkey’s efforts in this field and its heartfelt, humane attitude. Turkey’s efforts range from prisoner exchanges between the warring parties to the Grain Corridor, which has been instrumental in providing dry bread for the poor countries of the world, from bringing the parties together during the most violent periods of the war to shouting out the truth and the right without fear in every situation and situation. This is why Turkey has become a country that is always admired and respected by the world community, especially when it comes to global issues. This diplomatic success and depth undoubtedly makes a very, very important contribution to regions like ours that cooperate with many countries of the world in the fields of trade, tourism, finance and logistics. Not closing the doors to our neighbors Russia and Ukraine, with whom we have developed trade in a trajectory parallel to our historical development, and expressing this clearly to the world can only be possible for a country that can approach the issue in a human-oriented manner. Turkey’s strong, upright and principled stance has been the biggest slap in the face to the evil arms barons and the countries that patronize them, who have been wringing their hands since the start of the war. I hope that it will soon be realized that there will be no winner in this endless struggle and that peace will prevail over bloody conflicts and deaths. With these wishes, I greet you and wish health, peace and prosperity to our country and the world.
Giyasettin Eyyupkoca
