NEW YORK
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addressed the opening of the 67th UN General Assembly meetings in New York, calling for joint action in resolving international crises in many parts of the world.
"On many matters, we speak as one, yet we often fail to act in unity ... And if not now, when are we supposed to act in unity? ... And if it is not the United Nations, who is to lead?" Davutoglu told the General Assembly, saying that expectations from the United Nations have failed over issues such as Palestine, Azerbaijan, Syria, Cyprus and Myanmar.
Davutoglu said Turkey has expressed its strong support for the two-state solution in Palestine and adopted many decisions and resolutions, adding, "however, we still hope, one day, Palestine will be represented as an equal member in this Assembly."
The Turkish minster said that his country had underlined the need for a solution to Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, adding that there had been no single step towards resolution of this problem for the last two decades.
"Yet again, the Cyprus problem has remained unresolved for almost half a century. Nearly a decade has passed since the UN Settlement Plan of 2004, which was endorsed by the entire international community," Davutoglu said.
Davutoglu said terrorists continued to strike and take lives of innocent people, however added that there had been no effective international response and adequate solidarity against the scourge of terrorism.
"Today, some states employ methods of state violence and brutal oppression with impunity that cost lives of the innocent citizens that they are obliged to protect. If we cannot regard the rights of a person in Syria, Palestine, Somalia, Afghanistan and Rakhine region and other places, as equal as of our own, how can we talk about freedom and justice?" Davutoglu said.
"If fundamental human rights are forfeited for the sake of power politics, and become negotiable and even alienable in talks among a few nations in the UN Security Council, how are we to achieve universal human rights and security?" he said.
Gap between top two UN bodies widening
Davutoglu also underlined differences between the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council had been widening.
"The angle between the General Assembly and the Security Council is getting wider and wider. The differences between the two's work rhythms create problems," he said.
Davutoglu said the United Nations needed an extensive restructuring, adding that there were efforts underway to that end as well as to establish "a new international order."
The Turkish foreign minister also said there were initiatives to increase the number of Security Council members and overhauling the council's structure.
Davutoglu said crisis in Syria was the top issue on the agenda of this year's UN General Assembly meetings, adding that he held bilateral positive talks with envoys of Iran, Iraq, Greece and Russia.
