By Natasha Bowler with AP
Published on 21/06/2025 – 15:37 GMT+2•Updated
15:39
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Speaking at the 51st Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Turkish leader also warned against a “new Sykes-Picot order” in the Middle East, in reference to a 1916 secret deal between Western powers to divide up the region.
“We will not allow the establishment of a new Sykes-Picot order in our region with borders to be drawn in blood,” said President Erdogan in Istanbul.
In 1916, the English and French met in secret to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control if the Ottoman Empire was partitioned – an agreement dependent on an Allied victory during World War I.
The agreement proposed France would have control or influence over modern-day Syria and Lebanon, and Britain over modern-day Iraq, Jordan and parts of Palestine.
President Erdogan also today described the conditions in Gaza as worse than those of Nazi concentration camps during his speech at the OIC meeting.
“2 million of our sisters and brothers in Gaza have been struggling to survive under these conditions for the past 21 months,” the Turkish President said.
His comments come as tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel as the conflict enters its second week.
The OIC is set to hold a special closed-door session Saturday evening at the request of Iran, according to Turkish media Anadolu news site.
