Connecting Europe and Asia, Istanbul fosters numerous connections between the two continents and serves as a hub of diplomacy. Iran will hold talks with Britain, France and Germany on its nuclear program this Friday, while Ukraine and Russia are reportedly working out details of a new meeting in the Turkish city this week or next week.
The city has hosted talks between Iran and Western powers, as well as two rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks and discussions on the future of Syria, which brought together foreign diplomats.
Türkiye is keen on boosting its international profile as a key mediator and utilizes Istanbul’s symbolic location to promote diplomacy between the sides of conflicts and disagreements on a global level. Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the country has become a power broker in diplomacy, thanks to an effective foreign policy based on win-win principles. Its geopolitical advantage also plays into Türkiye's hands. Iran maintains good neighborly relations with Türkiye, which stood against Israel’s attacks on Tehran. Türkiye advocates a peaceful settlement to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and harshly criticized Israel for launching attacks on Iran, allegedly to prevent the latter from developing nuclear weapons. As for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Türkiye is among the rare countries enjoying friendly ties with both sides of the conflict. This eventually led to prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine.
