Skip to main content

COP30 Leaders' Summit Opens in Belém as Lula Launches Tropical Forests Fund and Calls It the 'COP of Truth'

Post a Comment

Turkey to Host Regional and European Foreign Ministers in Istanbul for Talks on Regional Conflicts

ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will host his counterparts from Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul on Friday, October 23, for first-of-their-kind talks on regional conflicts, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Thursday, October 22, 2026.

Illustration of diplomats shaking hands before the Istanbul skyline at dusk, concept illustration

Illustration: Diplomats meeting before the Istanbul skyline at dusk. Seven countries will gather for the first time in this format. (AI-generated illustration)

What Happened

The seven countries will meet in this format for the first time, at Turkey's initiative, the source said, as wars involving Iran, Yemen and Ukraine threaten shipping routes and regional security. The ministers are expected to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the latest situation in the Strait of Hormuz, developments related to Yemen, efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and opportunities for closer cooperation between the regional and European countries.

Fidan is expected to emphasise the need for a diplomatic solution to what the source described as the war between the United States and Iran, the importance of freedom of navigation in the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, and to reiterate Turkey's support for Saudi Arabia's security against attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the source said.

He will also tell his counterparts that Turkey has been working to stop the war in Ukraine spreading to the Black Sea, pointing to the regional security risks posed by the conflict, the source added.

Background

The meeting comes at a moment of acute strain across the region's waterways and energy routes. Fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia — including strikes on the Shaybah oilfield and Dammam airport — prompted the United States to order non-emergency staff to leave Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported on October 22, sending oil prices above $112 a barrel and underlining how quickly regional fighting can hit global energy markets.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, is a recent and still little-tested pact. Friday's gathering will be its most visible diplomatic outing yet, with Ankara using it to position itself as the security partner of choice for Riyadh against Houthi attacks — a role that also deepens Turkey's ties with Pakistan.

Turkey has long cast itself as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, brokering grain shipments and prisoner exchanges in the Ukraine war and hosting earlier rounds of diplomacy. The new seven-country format extends that ambition: it brings three European powers — Britain, France and Germany — into the same room as four regional states, a combination Ankara argues is needed when conflicts threaten both European energy supplies and Middle Eastern stability.

Illustration of oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz at dawn, concept illustration

Illustration: Oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz at dawn. Freedom of navigation is high on the ministers' agenda. (AI-generated illustration)


 

Why It Matters

Cross-regional groupings of this kind are rare. Regional states and European powers usually coordinate through the UN, the G7 or bilateral channels; a standing format that seats Cairo, Islamabad, Riyadh, London, Paris and Berlin together around Ankara's table would be a notable diplomatic innovation if it sticks.

The stakes are concrete. The Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb are among the world's most important shipping chokepoints, and any sustained disruption pushes up energy prices and shipping costs worldwide — a direct concern for the European economies at the table. For Turkey, hosting is also a statement of intent: proof that it can convene powers that often disagree, at a time when several conflicts overlap and traditional mediation channels are strained.

What Happens Next

The ministers meet in Istanbul on Friday, October 23. Watch for any joint statement — or lack of one — on Gaza, Hormuz navigation and Ukraine, and for signs that the seven-country format will become a recurring one.

Illustration of national flags beside a conference table with signed documents, concept illustration

Illustration: Flags and signed documents at a conference table. Turkey will reaffirm its defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. (AI-generated illustration)

A parallel diplomatic track is running in the background: on October 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted US special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg, after which the Kremlin said Moscow was willing in principle to resume talks with Ukraine and the US in November — the first such talks since February. Whether the Istanbul gathering and that November track reinforce or compete with each other will become clearer in the days after Friday's meeting.

Sponsored: explore today's featured sponsored offers

FAQ

When and where is the meeting?

Istanbul, Turkey, on Friday, October 23, 2026, according to a Turkish diplomatic source quoted by Reuters.

Which countries are taking part?

Seven in total: Turkey, as host, plus Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Britain, France and Germany. The source said the seven will meet in this format for the first time, at Turkey's initiative.

What is on the agenda?

The Israeli-Palestinian issue, the latest situation in the Strait of Hormuz, developments related to Yemen, efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, and opportunities for closer cooperation between the regional and European countries.

What is the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement?

A defence pact signed between Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, under which Turkey backs Saudi Arabia's security against attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants, according to the Turkish diplomatic source quoted by Reuters.

Why did Turkey call the meeting?

According to the source, the initiative responds to wars involving Iran, Yemen and Ukraine that threaten shipping routes and regional security — with Turkey pushing diplomatic solutions, freedom of navigation in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb straits, and efforts to stop the Ukraine war spreading to the Black Sea.

Sources

  • Reuters, Oct 22, 2026 — "Turkey to host regional and European foreign ministers for talks on regional conflicts, source says" (Ankara dateline)
  • Reuters, Oct 22, 2026 — Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia (Shaybah oilfield, Dammam airport); US orders non-emergency staff out of Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters, Oct 21, 2026 — "Putin hosts Trump envoy for new Ukraine peace talks, frees US citizen held in Russia"
  • Reuters, Oct 21, 2026 — "Russia is willing in principle to join new Ukraine peace talks in November, Kremlin says"

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CERN's LHCb Finds Evidence of One-in-Ten-Billion Particle Decay After 42-Year Search

GENEVA — Physicists working at CERN's Large Hadron Collider have found the first evidence from a single experiment of one of nature's rarest particle decays, a process so unlikely that the Standard Model of particle physics predicts it should happen only once in every ten billion beauty particles. The result, announced at a seminar at CERN on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, ends a search that began in the early 1980s with the CLEO experiment at Cornell University in the United States. It comes from the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment, known as LHCb, which studies particles containing beauty quarks — heavier relatives of the quarks that make up much of the visible matter in the universe. The decay in question involves a neutral B0 meson, a short-lived particle made of a beauty quark and a down antiquark, transforming into a pair of muons, heavier cousins of the electron. According to the University of Birmingham, which plays a leading role in the LHCb collaboration, the mea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oil Plunges Below $100 as Markets Rally After US Midterm Sweep

LONDON — Global markets delivered a dramatic split verdict on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as oil plunged below $100 a barrel while shares, gold and most major currencies rallied after Democrats swept the US midterm elections. Brent crude fell 97 cents, or 1.03 percent, to $93.65 a barrel as of 0211 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate dropped $1.14, or 1.29 percent, to $86.98, according to Reuters. Both benchmarks had tumbled more than 8 percent in the previous session to their lowest since 31 August, and Brent is about 20 percent lower this week, heading for its biggest weekly drop since the pandemic shock of April 2020. Yet the S&P 500 closed 1.6 percent higher on Wednesday, European shares neared a two-month high, and gold hit its highest in more than two weeks. Investors are pricing in a lower chance of renewed US-Israeli strikes on Iran and a greater chance that the war which began at the end of February 2026 ends through negotiation. Illustration: An oil pumpjack beside ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wall Street's Fear Gauge Soars to Eight-Month High as Nasdaq Slides Into Correction on AI Selloff

NEW YORK — Wall Street's most closely watched gauge of market anxiety logged its biggest jump in more than 18 months on Thursday, 5 November 2026, as a brutal selloff in chip and data-center stocks dragged the Nasdaq Composite more than 10% below its record closing high and into correction territory. The Cboe Volatility Index, known as the VIX, surged 11.5 points to an eight-month high of 28.09, its largest one-day rise since the days immediately after US President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping import tariffs on "Liberation Day" in April 2025 — a violent reversal of the post-election rally that had lifted markets just a day earlier. Illustration: The New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq slid into correction territory as the VIX spiked to an eight-month high. What Happened The selloff struck fast and hit the market's most crowded trade hardest. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4% on Thursday, according to Reuters, after falling nearly 4% to 24,712....
Post a Comment
Read more