From 11th to 13th March 2022, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will travel to Turkey in order to take part in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. During the conference of more than 2,000 participants, government representatives will meet with academics and leading figures from the world of diplomacy to discuss current foreign-policy issues. The central topic will be the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.
The completely unacceptable Russian aggression in Ukraine clearly demonstrates the suffering that can be inflicted by bombs and tanks. At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, I will talk with our partners about how to bring Russia back to the negotiating table. Because at the bottom of the current downward spiral, there are no winners,
noted Foreign Minister Schallenberg before his trip to Turkey.
The Foreign Minister will also use the Antalya Diplomacy Forum as an opportunity to meet one-on-one with his counterparts. With Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Minister Schallenberg will discuss the Turkish efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia. In addition, he will meet with the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, and Northern Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani to discuss the situation in the Western Balkans, where a credible European perspective is more important than ever following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A meeting with the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, AK Abdul Momen, and the Foreign Minister of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, is also on the agenda for Foreign Minister Schallenberg.
Another focus of his participation in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum is the Near East. Here, Foreign Minister Schallenberg will participate in a panel on “Searching for common ground in the Near East”. Furthermore, talks are planned with the Foreign Minister of Lebanon, Abdallah Bouhabib, and the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Riyad al-Maliki.
The Near East continues to face major challenges, but there are also rays of hope. In Vienna, a nearly finished version of the Iran nuclear agreement is more or less ready, and the Abraham Accords have sustainably improved the interpersonal contacts in the region. All of this shows that it is possible to reacha common ground,
said the Foreign Minister, who will also use the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to underline the significance of diplomacy.
