Published November 27,2025

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the guests following an inter-delegation meeting with Pope Leo XIV, the Head of State of Vatican and the spiritual leader of the Catholic world:

“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed representatives of diplomatic missions in our country, I warmly and respectfully welcome you on behalf of myself, my country, and our nation.

It is a great pleasure to host His Holiness Pope Leo XIV and his delegation in our country. I find it highly meaningful that he has chosen Türkiye for his first international visit after assuming office. I sincerely hope this distinguished visit will contribute to strengthening the relations between Türkiyeand the Vatican based on friendship, cooperation, and mutual understanding. I truly believe that the messages delivered from Türkiyeduring this visit will reach the Turkish-Islamic world and the entire Christian geography, thereby enhancing the hopes for peace worldwide.”

“Justice for everyone, prosperity for everyone, peace for everyone, serenity for everyone… These are our aims and what we strive to achieve. Guided by the wisdom in Saadi Shirazi’s words ‘The entire world does not merit the spilling of a single drop of blood,’ we will continue to work towards establishing a just and lasting peace.”

“Dear friends, at the heart of a lasting peace climate in our region lies the issue of Palestine. During the attacks that lasted more than two years, where over 70,000 Gazans, mostly children and women, were massacred, we once again witnessed this painful reality. The Israeli government has been bombing civilian settlements including churches, mosques, hospitals, and schools for months. One of the worship places hit by Israel was the Holy Family Church, the only Catholic church in Gaza. I would like to extend my wishes for recovery once again.”

“I would like it to be known that we have always appreciated the resolute stance of our esteemed guest and his predecessors, particularly regarding the issue of Palestine. As the family of humanity, our greatest debt to the Palestinian people is justice. The way to fulfill this debt is to urgently implement the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders.”