Turkish PM calls for radical decisions at UN

ISTANBUL

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday called on the United Nations to take radical decisions to enhance its reputation.

"The most important mission of the United Nations is to take radical decisions to further boost its reputation," Yildirim told the 26th Universal Postal Congress, which started Tuesday in Istanbul.

The premier said such decisions were required to “end years of ongoing regional conflicts," and warned against "letting vulnerable people to be sacrificed for the rivalry among some countries" in the decision-making process.

Yildirim also said that we should “dig deep” into the reasons of terror across the world and “should never make the mistake of breeding other terror organizations while fighting another one”.

The prime minister's comments came a day after the UN General Assembly began in New York.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is leading the Turkish delegation participating in the Assembly, has repeatedly called for a reform of the UN Security Council, saying “the world is bigger than five (permanent Security Council members)” and no Muslim country is represented at the Council.

Previously Turkish leaders have slammed the UN for failing to take action in the face of ongoing conflicts in Middle East, especially Syria, due to the obstacles put by UN Security Council members with veto right.

Speaking about the Postal Congress, Yildirim accused “some circles” of trying to organize the congress not in Istanbul as it was decided four years ago, but some other place, using July 15 coup attempt as an excuse.

“We should never forget this: You can not be safe by running away from terror. You can only be safe if you intimidate terror,” Yildirim said, adding that this was the only way to ensure security both at home and abroad.

Bringing together representatives from 192 countries, the 26th Universal Postal Congress is the first PaperSmart congress in the union's history, meaning very few printed copies will be used.

Yildirim recalled that about 4 tons of papers were used in previous congresses. “So we will save 4 tons of paper,” he said.

The congress ends on Oct. 7.