Selin Sayek Böke: “We Will Build a Foreign Policy that Negotiates for Peace, Not Bargains”

CHP Secretary General Selin Sayek Böke stated:

"Tens of millions in Turkey are writing the history of how to stand against an authoritarian government through democratic means. Those who defend democracy, justice, and equality in Turkey, shouting from the squares, ‘Either all together or none of us,’ are also showing the world that this is the only way.

As CHP, we will ensure that our country achieves the honorable, respected position it deserves with a foreign policy that does not serve as a source of cheap labor for others, that negotiates for peace instead of bargaining, and that creates prosperity."

CHP is currently hosting the Socialist International Council meetings in Istanbul. The meetings began yesterday with sessions of Socialist International Women. Opening today’s session, Böke also held a press conference about the five-day program.

Böke emphasized that the extraordinary circumstances Turkey is experiencing make the significance of the Socialist International meetings very clear:

"On one side, a small minority clinging to power a narrow interest group ignores democracy, justice, and the will of the people. On the other side stands the strong will of tens of millions who claim their country and their future.

This narrow group’s only goal is to hold onto power. They do not care about the nation, nor the people; our shared future is not on their agenda. They abuse all instruments of the state they are entrusted to govern, using them illegally and illegitimately to maintain their rule.

They have shattered the law to remove politics from being a democratic contest. They imprisoned our presidential candidate, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, and our colleagues, thinking they could imprison the people’s will to change power.

In the economy, they squandered the people’s resources to keep themselves in office and they continue to do so. They have created deep social polarization, destroying the collective vision of a shared future for their own gain. And in line with this, they use foreign policy not for Turkey’s national interests but as a tool to maintain their grip on power."

“There Exists a Politics that Defends the Public Interest Ours”

"On the side of the people’s will, which they tried but failed to imprison, something entirely different is happening.

In local administrations where the people have built new governance and in the steps toward the future government, there is a completely different approach: one that prioritizes the public interest above all else.

In the municipalities we govern, we work for the welfare of the people, practicing a politics that serves the public interest this is our understanding.

In contrast to the polarizing approach of the current government, the opposition today and the government of tomorrow stands for an inclusive and strong ‘Alliance for Turkey’, uniting all segments of society around shared values, regardless of political views or identities.

Likewise, in foreign policy, against the self-serving approach of the current rulers, tomorrow’s government will shape Turkey’s foreign policy based on national interests and the benefit of its people.

This is where the importance of the Socialist International Council Meeting hosted by CHP in Istanbul this week and co-chaired by our leader Özgür Özel and SI President Pedro Sánchez lies."

“World Leaders Will Discuss the Struggle We Must Wage Together”

Böke recalled that the Socialist International Council meeting, which reflects the future envisioned by the will of the people, is being held in Istanbul under CHP’s hosting:

"Socialist International President Pedro Sánchez came to Istanbul at the invitation of our Chairperson, Özgür Özel, to lead this meeting.

Our party previously hosted SI Council meetings in 1991 and 2013. At the December 2024 meeting in Morocco, which our Chairperson attended as Vice President, it was decided that the 2025 Council meetings would be held in Istanbul."

Böke concluded:

"Starting with the Socialist International Women’s meeting today, and continuing through Sunday evening, world leaders and the large political delegations accompanying them will, under the theme ‘For the World We Deserve: Either All Together or None of Us,’ discuss, debate, and negotiate the struggle we must wage together for democracy, solidarity, peace, and development, as well as the policies needed to achieve them.

Most importantly, they will shape the future of the world together here in Istanbul, under the hosting of CHP."

“BOTH OUR COUNTRY AND OUR WORLD ARE AT A CRITICAL THRESHOLD”

Selin Sayek Böke continued:

"With the meetings we are holding this week, CHP will be hosting the Socialist International in Turkey for the third time. The previous two meetings were, of course, held at pivotal moments for both the world and our country. But as of 2025, both our world and our nation stand at an even more critical threshold.

As the first quarter of the 21st century has passed, the historical moment we are in will determine how the rest of this century will take shape for the world, and especially for our country. This reality clearly demonstrates the urgent need for a much more active international perspective in politics.

Our Chairperson’s decision to invite the Socialist International Council to convene in Istanbul under CHP’s hosting and the perspective that brought Spain’s Prime Minister, Mr. Pedro Sánchez, to Istanbul as the President of the Socialist International, along with other leaders is rooted precisely in this understanding."

“THE GOVERNMENT USES FOREIGN POLICY AS A TOOL TO MAINTAIN POWER”

"We must speak openly because there is a very clear distinction to make.

First: the current government uses foreign policy merely to sustain its own rule. By contrast, on our journey to power and when we govern, we will conduct foreign policy based on Turkey’s national interests to elevate our country to its rightful place in the world, to enhance its dignity and respect, and to create prosperity for all segments of our society.

Second: in order to cling to power, the government treats everything as a bargaining chip and carries this approach into foreign policy. They pursue foreign relations that trample on human dignity, bargain over human lives, and turn our national honor and reputation into tools for political survival.

By contrast, in our government and even today as we move toward it we will base the strength of our foreign policy on negotiation, not bargaining. We will protect our country’s dignity and the honor of our society with a principled approach built on genuine diplomacy.

Third: to protect its own power, the government engages in opportunistic and destructive collaboration with other autocrats and imperialist powers, using the full resources of the state to undermine democracy and the rule of law.

We, on the other hand, in our governance and in our journey to power, will base foreign policy on solidarity, sincere diplomacy, and negotiation, uniting all democrats both domestically and internationally to defend democracy and take determined steps to strengthen and rebuild it."

“WE ARE LEADING A FOREIGN POLICY THAT CREATES PROSPERITY FOR THE CITIZENS OF TURKEY”

"The fact that the Socialist International Council meetings are being held in Istanbul is itself an expression of these three entirely different approaches.

Our foreign policy approach is rooted in national interest, creating democracy, prosperity, and development; our strength that comes from negotiation, not bargaining; and our sincere solidarity are all part of building a different future today.

CHP is already presenting the exact opposite foreign policy approach to the current government and demonstrating the prosperity, wealth, and peace we will create for the country once we are in power.

The Socialist International is precisely such a platform for negotiation and solidarity. The importance of these meetings can be illustrated with examples from previous SI sessions, in which our Chairperson participated as Vice President.

As we always say: ‘Unlike the government, we have a foreign policy approach that prioritizes our national interests, an approach that creates prosperity and development for every citizen of this nation.’

With exactly this perspective, we are leading a foreign policy that creates prosperity for the people of Turkey.

We are already building a country that:

● Establishes all relationships required by its national interests,

● Understands that its strategic priority is rooted in independence,

● Knows that true independence means deciding for itself with whom it engages."

“AS A RESULT OF OUR NEGOTIATIONS, ALL COUNTRIES SIGNED THAT UNDER OUR GOVERNMENT, TURKEY WILL BECOME A FULL EU MEMBER”

"Let me be more concrete: Our national interest lies in a framework where Turkey is not turned into a depot for cheap labor and low-cost goods, but instead benefits from international economic relations as an equal trade partner.

This is why, with our largest trading partner, the European Union (EU), we need a comprehensive vision of production and investment that will develop Turkey and serve our national interests, instead of competing with cheap labor and cheap goods or being confined to a customs union.

The name of this vision is equal and full EU membership. Of course, other policy steps must accompany this goal, relations with other regions must be built, and strategic policies with other countries must be implemented. But one of the names of this vision is equal and full EU membership.

For a more prosperous future, where everyone becomes wealthier and our country develops, we as CHP put forward Turkey’s claim to full and equal EU membership in every international platform and negotiation table, without taking a single step back.

And in July 2024, at the Socialist International Europe Committee meeting in Romania, we were at the table. As a result of the negotiations we conducted, the joint final declaration signed by all members of the Socialist International explicitly stated that once our party’s struggle for democracy and reforms is completed meaning, under our government Turkey will become a full EU member.

All countries signed this. It confirmed that Turkey’s goal of full EU membership will become a reality once democracy is achieved and CHP completes its reforms in power, and it expressed support for that goal.

This is exactly why hosting the Socialist International Council Meeting is so important because it provides the platform to conduct such critical negotiations, enabling us to secure steps that increase the prosperity of our country. Hosting this meeting in Istanbul makes it even more significant."

“THE GOVERNMENT IS LOOKING FOR A TRADE DEAL WE UNDERSTAND THIS FROM THE MARCH 19 COUP”

"The government’s policy on EU membership is clear. It disregards democracy and the rule of law and is determined to maintain this approach.

It does not seek an equal partnership with the EU based on legal norms and advanced democracy. Instead, it wants a trade deal where these principles can be ignored.

How do we know this? We don’t need to look far. We saw it on March 19, with the coup against our democracy. We saw it in the heavy economic blow it inflicted on our people.

The government tried to eliminate its biggest political rival through unlawful means to extend its own political life. It failed and it will fail. But the March 19 coup also dealt a massive blow to the economy:

● The overnight annulment of a 31-year-old diploma showed that no document issued by the state, no diploma, no property deed, no loan certificate, no marriage license can be trusted, because this government could cancel anything tomorrow to extend its own survival.

● The next morning, they showed the same recklessness by first detaining and then unlawfully imprisoning our presidential candidate Mr. İmamoğlu and his colleagues without evidence.

All of this caused deep economic anxiety:

● It signaled to traders that doing business is risky.

● It signaled to lenders that risks have skyrocketed.

Let me translate this: interest rates increased.

Let me translate this: our currency, the Turkish Lira, lost value.

Let me translate this: on top of that, $60 billion of our reserves painfully saved by our people through high interest rates and immense sacrifice was squandered so this government could cling to power."

“THE MARCH 19 COUP IS THE CLEAREST PROOF THAT THE GOVERNMENT CARES NOTHING FOR THE PEOPLE’S WELFARE”

"The clearest, most concrete example showing that the government’s concern is neither the rule of law, nor democracy, nor our nation, nor the welfare of its citizens, is the March 19 coup itself.

Moreover, the fact that this coup relied on destructive relationships among autocrats and partnerships with imperialist powers exposes the fundamental difference in foreign policy approaches between us and the government.

Our differences do not end there. We view peace not as a bargaining chip but as a matter of national interest.

Today, from Ukraine to Gaza, from India to Lebanon, we are unfortunately surrounded by a ring of fire, an arc in which severe human tragedies are unfolding.

This week, as we host the Socialist International Council Meeting in Istanbul, we will hold crucial negotiations with leaders and politicians from around the world on ending conflicts, protecting the innocent, and building regional and global peace."

“THE SUCCESS OF THIS STRUGGLE IS ONLY POSSIBLE THROUGH THE SOLIDARITY OF ‘ALL TOGETHER OR NONE OF US’”

"Since its founding by our great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Republic of Turkey has been built on the principle of ‘Peace at Home, Peace in the World.’ This is the true guarantee of peace.

Atatürk’s peace pacts in the interwar period, the great diplomacy of our second President and Party Leader İsmet İnönü during World War II, and the leadership of our third Party Leader Bülent Ecevit in establishing a bond with Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat all of these remain guiding examples.

The legacies of our former Party Leaders and Foreign Ministers, such as Murat Karayalçın and Hikmet Çetin, continue to stand as proof that peace and security have always been central to the history of the Republic of Turkey and the CHP.

Today, CHP remains in that same position. As part of this stance, immediately after taking office in November 2023, our Chairperson called upon all member parties of the Socialist International to demand an urgent ceasefire in Palestine and an end to the humanitarian tragedy.

This call went out to nearly 120 political parties, many of which are in power. Since then, Socialist International President and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and CHP Chairperson and SI Vice President Özgür Özelhave repeated this call in every forum, on every stage, at every opportunity.

Because we all know that watching human tragedies in silence is to become complicit.

We all know that peace and democracy are inseparable.

And within this holistic understanding, the success of this struggle is only possible through the solidarity we call ‘All together or none of us.’"

“THE FAIRER, MORE DIGNIFIED LIVES WE DESERVE COME THROUGH SOLIDARITY AND NEGOTIATION”

"Why is the Socialist International Council meeting important?

Why is it so valuable to host it in Istanbul?

The answer lies in peace.

Negotiation-based platforms like this one are constructive; they are the guarantee of stability.

By contrast, the government’s bargaining-based foreign policy is destructive and creates instability.

In a system without democracy, social justice, and freedom, there is no negotiation only bargaining.

At those tables, it is the interests of small cliques, not tens of millions of citizens, that are bargained away.

When bargaining replaces negotiation:

● Turkey’s economy can be thrown into crisis with a single manipulated statistic,

● The country can become the center of migration flows, leaving the burden on the Turkish people,

● Major losses can occur in the Cyprus issue as this government has already made us experience.

By contrast, as CHP demonstrates, platforms of negotiation like the Socialist International Council lead to peace, and they generate development-oriented foreign policy perspectives that create prosperity.

In short, the fairer, more dignified, more respected lives and the better world that we all deserve depend on solidarity and negotiation.

They come from strong alliances, sustainable partnerships, and the mutual trust to say, ‘All together or none of us.’

That trust is embedded in the very theme of this Council meeting."

“WE ARE BUILDING OUR GOVERNMENT TODAY”

"It is not only the defenders of democracy in the streets and squares of Turkey who say ‘All together or none of us.’

Today, with the title and presence of this meeting in Istanbul, we are proclaiming to the entire world that democracy itself can only be built on the principle of ‘All together or none of us.’

Because we know that:

● Only then will our youth travel the world without visas,

● Our SMEs and industrialists will compete through technological advancement,

● Only then will we all prosper together,

● Only then will Turkey’s foreign policy secure both peace and prosperity,

● And only then will per capita income exceed not just $20,000 or $30,000, but $40,000 and beyond.

This is why hosting the Socialist International Council Meeting in Turkey, and holding leadership roles within it

why our Chairperson serves as Vice President of the Socialist International,

and why I am honored to serve as Vice President of Socialist International Women

all stand as guarantees of Turkey’s developmental, prosperity-generating, and peace-based future.

We are building our government today."

“WE WILL BUILD A FOREIGN POLICY THAT CREATES PROSPERITY AND NEGOTIATES FOR PEACE, NOT FOR BARGAINS”

"In Istanbul, under the theme ‘All Together or None of Us for the World We Deserve,’ the Council’s agenda includes solidarity, peace, ensuring that digital developments do not undermine democracy, development, social justice, protecting women from violence, and the Istanbul Convention.

Today, tens of millions in Turkey are writing the history of how to stand against an authoritarian regime through democratic means. And at the end of this journey, millions in Turkey will also answer the question of how an authoritarian regime can be changed through democratic ways not only for our country but by providing global leadership.

Turkey, which is fighting the battle for democracy to prevail over autocracy, is also leading the world in this sense.

The fact that this meeting is hosted in Istanbul by our party, under this powerful theme, shows that the whole world is paying attention.

Those who defend democracy, justice, and equality in Turkey saying ‘All together or none of us’ are shouting to the world from our nation’s squares that this is the only way forward.

We, as CHP, continue with the decision to walk toward power together with our people.

We are fully aware of the great responsibility we carry on behalf of our nation, and we are working today to build the future.

We will ensure that our country achieves the honorable and respected position it deserves with a foreign policy that:

● Does not make Turkey a source of cheap labor in the global economy,

● Creates prosperity for our people,

● Draws its strength from negotiation, not bargaining,

● And becomes a true force for peace.

Together with world leaders and all political forces who believe in democracy, as we are doing today, we will achieve this.

We have no doubt that the Socialist International Council meetings will be a crucial milestone on this journey."