Fidan: “Israel Can Join Regional Security Bloc if It Recognizes Palestine”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has laid out a conditional offer to Israel: recognize a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, and Turkey would support Israeli membership in a new regional security bloc spanning from Pakistan to the Persian Gulf.
Speaking to Nikkei Asia in Ankara on May 25, Fidan described the proposed platform as anchored by Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Gulf states, with potential room for Iran once conditions allow. He called this a "golden opportunity" for the region to build a cooperative framework based on mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Israel is not after its security but after more land" — Fidan
On the current state of Turkey-Israel relations, Fidan was blunt. Bilateral trade had reached $10 billion before Israel's war in Gaza and has since been suspended entirely. He said Turkey's conditions for resuming trade are that Israel stop what he called the killing of Palestinians and restore access to food, shelter, medicine, and water in Gaza.
Fidan dismissed Israeli political rhetoric that frames Turkey as a strategic adversary, saying Israeli politicians "need an enemy to make politics" and that Israel was "not after its security but after more land," pointing to Israeli military presence in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and Lebanon.
On the Iran-U.S. standoff, Fidan offered one of the more optimistic assessments from any senior regional diplomat. He said both sides want a deal and that "an agreement is closer than ever." He noted the Hormuz Strait closure since late February has driven up energy and food prices globally, putting pressure on both Washington and Tehran to reach a resolution faster than nuclear talks would normally allow.
Fidan also confirmed Turkey is preparing to host a NATO summit in Ankara in July and said President Erdogan has spoken with Trump multiple times recently. When asked whether Trump would attend, Fidan said Trump had never said he would not, and that all summit preparations are being made to accommodate him.
