United Nations General Assembly: Van der Bellen meets Erdogan in New York

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the 77th general debate at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to the President’s Office, the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon (local time) at the UN headquarters.

Bilaterally, the atmosphere between Vienna and Ankara had been freezing cold for a long time. At the end of June, there was a meeting between Erdogan and Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) in Madrid. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) had met his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu several times in recent months.

Turkey in the role of mediator

In recent months, Turkey has mediated between current wartime opponents Russia and Ukraine, among other things to allow the blocking of grain exports from Ukrainian ports, which are expected to go to famine-threatened areas of Africa, for example. Like Russia and Ukraine, Turkey borders the Black Sea.

The NATO member has good relations with both states and aims to find a balance between Russian and Ukrainian interests in its mediation activities. Turkey condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in the UN General Assembly, but did not adhere to Western sanctions.

Van der Bellen’s three, Nehammer and Schallenberg will be guests of the United Nations General Assembly next week. Numerous bilateral and multilateral events are planned.

–

–