Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan stated, "Genuine peace cannot be achieved by merely reliving the same old narratives or allowing Israel to cover up one war crime by committing another."
Minister Fidan delivered opening remarks at the "International Strategic Communication Summit" (Stratcom Summit'23), held by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications in Istanbul.
Fidan pointed to a paradigm shift taking place in the international system and the geopolitical equation and the fact that, since the end of the Cold War, strategic competition has reached its peak today.
Fidan noted that technological advancements have rendered competition between states no longer confined to conventional norms, adding that in the current international order, disinformation and cyber attacks stand out as threats and that states can also be threatened by individuals.
Fidan argued that we live in a world where disinformation obscures the truth, stating, "Today in Gaza, institutionalised disinformation is at work, just as it did in the past to justify intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq and to further destabilise our region. In contrast, our notion of a state is one in which it communicates the truth unequivocally; it is this truth that lends credibility to a state. Currently, states have an obligation to resolve the crisis of loss of truth."
Citing artificial intelligence as a striking example, Fidan emphasised that cutting-edge advancements such as communication technologies, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence might be abused by hostile actors.
Fidan further noted that Türkiye had taken action against hybrid threats and made all required preparations by approaching security concepts holistically. Minister Fidan continued:
"As part of Türkiye's national security system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is strongly engaged in these efforts. We attach great significance to strategic communication as part of my ministry's restructuring efforts by making use of the potential presented by the digital era. Having 260 missions, we are the fifth-largest diplomatic network in the world, and we are more than capable of updating our infrastructure and ourselves to meet changing demands."
Fidan informed that terrorist organisations exploit the pervasiveness of social media to conduct tactical exercises by implementing communication systems, cyberattack software, and artificial intelligence.
"We are committed to implementing all necessary steps and measures to fortify our national security"
Fidan stated that counter-terrorism methods from the past are no longer adequate to meet the demands of the present day, adding that Türkiye is a country whose counter-terrorism strategy is continuously evolving to meet the needs of the time.
Fidan said that they were at times left alone in their counter-terrorism efforts, adding, "At times, we encountered instances where our friends and allies aligned themselves with terrorist organisations. Despite the fact that we were compelled to fight against proxy organisations that ended up being pawns of imperial powers, we have never hesitated to speak the truth and will continue to do so in the future. Consistently and across all platforms, we have stated that our allies', particularly the United States', assistance to the PKK and its offshoot YPG under the guise of combating DAESH is a major strategic misstep. Today, I would like to reiterate from this rostrum that we are fully committed to implementing all necessary measures and steps to fortify our national security in this regard, which poses a vital threat to Türkiye."
Minister Fidan mentioned that certain Western countries are expecting more out of Türkiye when it comes to efforts in fighting irregular migration, adding, "Allow me to be very clear with these countries: If you supported your ally Türkiye and not a terrorist organisation, would it not be easier for us to focus the human, political, economic, and military resources we mobilise in our struggle against terrorism on the fight against irregular migration?"
"We are willing to host peace talks again when the conditions are ripe"
Fidan indicated that the Ukraine War also featured both an intense reliance on cyber attacks and information operations and combats on the frontlines.
Emphasising that the most effective way to eliminate these threats is to "end the war through negotiations as soon as possible," Fidan recalled that Türkiye has been politically and strategically supportive of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, including Crimea, since the beginning.
Hakan Fidan stated that Türkiye prevented the destabilisation of the global food market with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, adding, "We are willing to host peace talks again when the conditions are ripe. But let us be clear: this is not something that can be achieved alone. Unity and coordination among countries supporting the end of conflicts will accelerate the path to peace. We should not forget that prolonging the war will increase the attractiveness of hybrid threat methods."
Hybrid challenges and disinformation
Noting that disinformation is "one of the most frequently used methods of hybrid challenges" today, Fidan said that they face "two types of disinformation in the context of Israel's war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank following the events of October 7."
Fidan said, "The first is the biased attitude of many Western media outlets that ignore the humanitarian tragedy that Palestinians are facing. The other is institutionalised disinformation, not limited to the events of October 7, in which Israel tries to convince the whole world by obfuscating the facts. The purpose of Israel's disinformation in the current crisis is to justify the massacre of over 14,000 Palestinian civilians, including 6,000 children, with a brutality reminiscent of the Middle Ages, under the guise of self-defence."
Emphasising that for this reason, Israel shoots at hospitals, blames others for it, and looks for tunnels under the health centre where it fired, Fidan said, "However, this story that Israel has constructed mainly focuses on covering up the occupation and making a two-state solution de facto impossible through its actions in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza."
Fidan said that Türkiye is conducting its efforts in two lanes, with the first lane aiming at "ensuring a full ceasefire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza," while the second lane is to "return to efforts to achieve a lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution."
Stating that they are in intense diplomatic traffic on a bilateral and multilateral basis, Fidan said, "It is generally accepted that the only valid solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the realisation of an independent, sovereign and geographically integrated Palestinian state with East Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital."
"We must put an end to this historic injustice"
Minister of Foreign Affairs Fidan emphasised that this is still not enough and said, "Genuine peace cannot be achieved by merely reliving the same old narratives or allowing Israel to cover up one war crime by committing another. As the great Palestinian thinker Edward Said, whose 20th death anniversary we recently commemorated, said, we need to put aside compliantly confirming easy formulas, ready-made clichés, and meek confirmation of what those in power say or do. Therefore, we need to implement a permanent solution with new discourses and methods. We must put an end to this historic injustice."
Minister Fidan said that they explained that peace could only be preserved through a guarantor mechanism based on regional ownership and that they were pleased to see that this idea was being discussed.
"The Western world must distance itself from Israel's war crimes"
Emphasising that Western governments' "silence on the massacres" and "failure to call for a meaningful ceasefire point to a moral and political collapse," Fidan said that this situation brings the risk of completely destroying confidence in international law.
Minister Fidan said, "The Western world must distance itself from Israel's war crimes. Any unconditional support for Israel is a blank check for further killing of Palestine and Palestinians."
"History will not forget the intolerance of the Palestinian flag and calls for peace in today's Europe, where attacks on the Qur'an are supposedly accepted as freedom of expression," said Fidan, emphasising that real peace is possible through justice, international cooperation and truth.