The reason behind Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iran is to bring the Palestinian people to their knees, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday during the 17th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) in Azerbaijan’s Stepanakert (Khankendi).

“Israel’s increasingly aggressive policies under its current administration are threatening peace and stability in the region,” the president said in his speech.

Urging ECO members to take up more efforts for the Palestinian cause, Erdoğan added: “We can neither abandon the Palestinian cause nor remain silent as the Netanyahu government turns our region into a bloodbath.”

Erdoğan reminded that Israel’s attacks in Gaza have claimed more than 57,000 Palestinian lives since October 2023.

Regarding Israel’s attack on Iran, Erdoğan reiterated that Türkiye engaged in intense efforts to stop the conflict from spreading across the region.

On Afghanistan, Erdoğan said, “We believe that we must support security, peace and development of people in Afghanistan.”

Pointing out that they are obliged to further develop their vision in economy and trade, which are the main areas of cooperation of the organization, Erdoğan said: “We must take steps together to increase our regional trade volume target of $100 billion to higher figures.”

“In this respect, we attach great importance to the organization of the fifth trade ministers meeting at the first possible opportunity,” he added.

Also touching on the clean energy issue, Erdoğan said that with Türkiye’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for 2024-2030, they envisage a reduction of 100 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.

About the Zero Waste Project, the Turkish president said it adds “additional strength” to the fight against climate change.

“Since its inception, we have prevented approximately 6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions,” Erdoğan added.

He said Türkiye is transforming its key sectors to achieve its net zero emission target for 2053 and realize its green development visions, and that the country has increased the share of renewable energy in total installed capacity to 59% with innovative initiatives, especially in the field of energy.

Erdoğan was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) Chair Binali Yıldırım, Deputy Chair of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and head of relations with Turkic states Kürşad Zorlu, AK Party Deputy Chair Halit Yerebakan, AK Party Deputy Chair Sevilay Tuncer, Directorate of Communications head Fahrettin Altun, and chief advisor to the president on foreign policy and security Akif Çağatay Kılıç. The summit was held under the theme of “New Economic Cooperation Organization Vision for a Sustainable and Climate Resilient Future.”

The participants of the summit also included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar.

Erdoğan has also called for stronger ties with Turkish Cypriots, especially in the fields of sports, culture, economy and tourism.

“I believe that our Organization will continue to strengthen its solidarity with our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters, who have been observer members since 2012 and have long been subjected to unjust isolation.”

The ECO is a political and economic intergovernmental organization founded by Türkiye, Pakistan and Iran in 1985 to serve as a platform to discuss and improve development and promote trade and investment opportunities.

It has seven other members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The TRNC is an observer member.

Holding the summit in Khankendi, which was once the capital of the occupying regime in Karabakh, is of symbolic importance for Azerbaijan.

‘Karabakh rises’

As host of the summit, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, for his part, highlighted that “Extensive restoration and reconstruction efforts are currently underway across all of Karabakh and East Zangezur, liberated from occupation.”

Aliyev said that several major international events have already taken place in Azerbaijan’s territories liberated from Armenian occupation.

He reminded that Armenia occupied nearly 20% of Azerbaijan’s territories for almost 30 years, carried out ethnic cleansing and displaced more than 1 million Azerbaijanis from their lands.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military illegally occupied Karabakh – a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan – and seven adjacent regions.

Azerbaijan regained most of the territory during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that opened the door to normalization and demarcation talks.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after separatist forces in the region surrendered.

Despite reaching a consensus on a peace agreement in March, both Baku and Yerevan have yet to sign the deal and have accused each other of cross-border attacks.

Pashinyan has recognized Baku’s sovereignty over Karabakh after three decades of Armenian separatist rule, a move seen as a crucial first step toward normalizing relations.

But he has faced a domestic backlash for making territorial concessions, including the return of four border villages to Azerbaijan last year.