Türkiye Positions Antalya Forum as Alternative Diplomatic Platform

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is taking on a more defined role in Türkiye's foreign policy thinking, with officials presenting it as a venue designed to address gaps left by existing international platforms.

Speaking on April 18, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said current global forums are disproportionately shaped by Western priorities and fail to give sufficient space to crises in the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans. He argued that this imbalance limits their ability to respond to regional conflicts.

Fidan described the Antalya platform as an attempt to open space for actors who are often sidelined in larger multilateral settings.

The structure of this year's forum reflected that approach. The official programme ran from April 17 to 19, but several key contacts took place outside formal sessions, including meetings involving Russia, Syria, the United States and regional actors.

On the sidelines, Fidan met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, with the two sides signing a 2026–2027 Consultative Action Plan. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa also held talks in Antalya with Turkish officials ahead of the forum, while U.S. Special Envoy Tom Barrack used the event to signal a possible reopening of the S-400 and F-35 file.

The range of contacts pointed to a clear pattern. Antalya is not being used only for public messaging. It is also serving as a space where multiple diplomatic tracks can move at the same time, including files that have stalled elsewhere.

That is what gave Antalya weight this year. Russia, Syria, the United States and regional actors were not just sharing a stage. They were moving separate files under the same roof, in a format Türkiye is trying to turn into a diplomatic instrument of its own.