Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that recent regional developments show the current international system has “raised the white flag of surrender,” accusing the world’s institutions of standing aside as Israeli violence continues in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Erdogan on Friday warned that the international system is failing to uphold peace and security.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the TRT World Forum 2026 at the Istanbul Congress Centre, Erdogan said:
“Illegal settler terrorism, which seeks to displace Palestinians from their ancestral homeland forcibly, is becoming increasingly brazen every day under the indifferent gaze of the modern world.”
Pacta sunt servanda
International institutions tasked with ensuring peace, security and stability are once again “watching from the sidelines” atrocities unfold in Gaza, as happened in Rwanda, Srebrenica and many other places, he noted.
“Unfortunately, the Gaza Peace Agreement, which we also helped broker, is not being implemented,” Erdogan noted.
Underlining that the principle of "pacta sunt servanda", which underpins international relations, is not being upheld, Erdogan said, "Everyone must understand that no problem can be resolved this way.”
The Turkish president said the norms and principles on which the international system is built “are being trampled on today.”
Erdogan argued that the world’s current crises cannot be addressed with outdated approaches.
“We cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s recipes,” he said.
A World Without a Centre
Opening his remarks, speaking at the TRT World Forum, whose theme this year is “A World Without a Centre", Erdogan congratulated and thanked TRT’s administration for organising this year’s forum, calling it a flagship brand of the broadcaster.
He said TRT has for more than 60 years delivered principled and responsible broadcasting across conventional and digital platforms.
He expressed hope that the forum’s discussions would be “horizon-opening” and that the messages conveyed would contribute to global stability and peace, particularly in regions where people are suffering and oppressed.
