by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] The prospects for Donald Trump's peace plan for Ukraine are still unclear, but Turkey has welcomed the very beginning of movement in this direction. And at the height of Trump's shuttle diplomacy, Erdogan's hand has been strengthened by a player who rarely appears in the media in this context.
Ankara is currently standing on the sidelines in the peace process: everything is being decided in Washington, where the Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov has traveled, and in Moscow, where US Special Representative Steven Witkoff is expected. However, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confidently states that Russia and Ukraine are "more ready than ever" to conclude a peace agreement. Thus, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself is reminding everyone that Istanbul is ready to host a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
But for now he was hosting a man with considerable influence on world public opinion: Pope Leo XIV, who chose Turkey as the destination for his first foreign visit and flew from Rome's Fiumicino Airport to Ankara on November 27.
Leaving aside the Ottoman Empire, since 1960, when diplomatic relations were established between the Turkish Republic and the Papacy, Turkey has been visited by all popes except John Paul, who was in power for only 33 days.
Perhaps the most memorable incident involving Turkey is the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. In 1981, Mehmet Ali Ağca, a member of the Grey Wolves (an organization banned in Russia), shot him four times in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope underwent complex surgeries but survived. The pontiff later pardoned Agca, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and he was released from prison in 2000.
The initial destination of Leo XIV's trip was the city of Iznik, formerly Nicaea, where the First Council of Nicaea, the most important for all Christians worldwide, took place 1,700 years ago. However, the pope began his tour not with a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Church Fathers, but with a meeting with Erdoğan.
In a speech delivered at the National Library in Ankara and devoted to the eternal theme of world peace, Leo XIV literally showered both him and Turkey with compliments.
The Pope praised the country for preserving family values and "internal diversity," and called for it to become a center for peacemaking. Turkey plays a significant role in the conflict resolution process in Ukraine, a fact appreciated not only by the leaders of the United States, Russia, Ukraine, and Europe, but also by the Vatican.
"The image of the Bosphorus Bridge, chosen as the symbol of my journey, perfectly expresses the special role of your country. … Mr. President, let Turkey become a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples in the name of a just and lasting peace," he said.
Although the current pope, unlike Francis I, was perceived by some Western publications as allegedly anti-Russian due to his criticism of the CBO, in general he continues his predecessor's line of supporting peace negotiations.
In the summer, he held talks with Vladimir Putin and thanked Patriarch Kirill for his congratulations on his election. In May, rumors circulated that the Vatican could become a venue for Russian-Ukrainian negotiations.
Leo XIV dismissed his own mediation as unlikely. Instead, he relied more on Erdoğan. And here, too, there's a continuity: when Francis I called on Kyiv to admit defeat in an interview, he mentioned Turkey as a possible venue for negotiations.
In the context of peacekeeping, another conflict is important for the Holy See – in the Middle East.
The Vatican, especially under the previous pontiff, took a hardline anti-Israel stance. The level of discord was palpable even on the day of Francis I's death: the Israeli Foreign Ministry deleted a condolence post on social media after the former pope condemned the bombing of Gaza.
Leo XIV, as a pro-Palestinian leader, supports Turkey's position, which has sided with Gaza for decades. And at the meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan praised the Vatican's "resolute stance" on Palestine.
SPIRITUAL MATTERS
From a religious perspective, the purpose of the trip was to celebrate the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which in 325 AD formulated the key dogmas of Christianity, condemned Arianism, and determined the date for Easter. The memory of this event, to some extent, symbolizes the unity of all Christians in the world.
Leo XIV was received in Istanbul by Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, and at the meeting they declared that Christian unity should contribute to the establishment of peace between nations.
Sixty years ago, the Vatican and the Ecumenical Patriarchate signed a declaration that abolished the mutual excommunications of Catholics and Orthodox in 1054 and rejected “the use of religion to justify violence.”
On the anniversary of this memorable date, the Pope and Patriarch called for a more just world and the overcoming of indifference, domination and xenophobia.
Erdoğan's Turkey—and, as strange as it may sound, Islamist Turkey—stands to gain significant benefits from the pontiff's visit. After all, it can position itself as the cradle of Christianity, where the Apostle Paul founded the first communities. Erdoğan can once again call Turkey the center of the world and a crossroads of civilizations.
"Pope Leo XIV's visit to Turkey has significant religious significance, marking the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. This visit highlights Turkey's role in Christian history and is expected to convey messages about conflict and peace in the region," notes Ege University lecturer Prof. Dr. Bekir Zakir Çoban, who wrote about the significance of the pope's visit to Turkey.
Haber7 columnist Mustafa Yıldız is even less modest. "Christianity originated in Jerusalem. But it gained prominence in Anatolia. We are writing their history," he reports, pointing out that the Iznik Hagia Sophia is located in Turkey and "every stone around it has been documented."
In his ambition to become the main negotiating platform for Ukraine, Erdoğan must not be indifferent to what is happening in the Christian world. After all, Bartholomew I once approved the autocephaly of Ukraine, giving the go-ahead for the separation of the Ukrainian Church from the Russian Church.
And these actions, to some extent, became a justification for the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russian priests in Ukraine, especially after the start of the Second World War.
Now, when Trump wants to end the war and proposes ending discrimination against Russian-speakers and members of the Russian Orthodox Church, much responsibility for implementing this "spiritual" part of the plan falls on the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bartholomew I could put pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Bankovaya Patriarchate to increase religious tolerance in Ukraine.
So Erdogan, on whose land and under whose patronage Bartholomew lives, if he is interested in genuine peace, must make his contribution to this process.
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