Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking at a roundtable meeting of U.S think-tank representatives today at the Turkish House in New York City, said his government  “has seized an important opportunity for lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus together with Azerbaijan and Armenia.”

Erdoğan is in New York to attend the 79th U.N. General Assembly. Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan arrived in New York yesterday for the same purpose.

CNN TÜRK reports the two will meet on the sidelines of the session. Pashinyan’s office hasn’t announced who Pashinyan will meet with other than U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.

Erdoğan, according to the Anadolu Agency, said Turkey considers respect for international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states indispensable and that these principles are needed more than ever in today's world.

He criticized the U.N. Security Council for only representing the interests of five major world powers and called for the immediate reform of the organization.

Erdoğan described the war in Gaza a “humanitarian crisis, and urged the international community to “intensify pressure on Israel” to prevent a regional war.

The Turkish House (Turkevi Center) is a 36-story skyscraper located across from the headquarters of the United Nations that serves as the headquarters of several Turkish diplomatic missions in New York City, as well as a center of Turkish cultural activity.

Photo: hurriyetdailynews.com