ANKARA, 28 Nov. - (ANA) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan praised Pope Leo's stance on the Palestinian issue after meeting him in Ankara on Thursday and said he hoped the Catholic leader's first overseas visit would benefit humanity at a time of tension and uncertainty.

 

"We commend (Pope Leo's) astute stance on the Palestinian issue," Erdogan said in an address to the Pope and political and religious leaders at the presidential library in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

 

"Our debt to the Palestinian people is justice, and the foundation of this is to immediately implement the vision of a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. Similarly, preserving the historic status of Jerusalem is crucial," Erdogan said.

 

Pope Leo's calls for peace and diplomacy regarding the war in Ukraine are also very meaningful, Erdogan said.

 

In September, Leo met at the Vatican with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and raised the "tragic situation" in Gaza with him.

 

Turkey has emerged as one of the harshest critics of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed over 69,000 Palestinians since October 2023.

 

 

 

 

Pope Leo also urged Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict after talks with Erdogan.

 

"Mr President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace," he said in the capital as he began the first overseas trip of his papacy.

 

"Today more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it, with firm will and patient resolve," said Leo, in a nod to Turkey's growing role in conflict-resolution efforts in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond.

 

Elected in May as the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the 70-year-old pontiff landed in Ankara shortly after 12:20 local time (0920 GMT) on a trip that will also take him to Istanbul and the ancient city of Iznik before heading to Lebanon on Sunday.

 

"I have very much been looking forward to this trip because of what it means for all Christians, but it is also a great message to the whole world," he told reporters on board his plane, describing it as a "historic moment".

 

A tight cordon of security meant the papal convoy swept through nearly empty streets en route to the vast mausoleum dedicated to the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, where Leo paid his respects.

 

He then headed to the sprawling presidential complex for talks with Erdogan, who is seen as a key player for peace efforts in a region fraught with war.

 

"This land is inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity, and today it beckons the children of Abraham and all humanity to a fraternity that recognises and appreciates differences," he said.

 

Hailing Turkey's "special role" as a bridge between East and West, Asia and Europe, he described it as a "crossroads of sensibilities" that was richer for its "internal diversity".

 

"Uniformity would be an impoverishment. Indeed, a society is alive if it has a plurality," he said in a country that counts some 100,000 Christians among a population of 86 million, mostly Sunni Muslims.

 

"Christians desire to contribute positively to the unity of your country. They are, and they feel, part of Turkish identity."   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/28 November 2025 - - -