Kurtulmuş stated that international instruments and institutions can no longer fulfill their functions. The session took place in Rome. Numan Kurtulmuş, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), spoke at the session titled “Renewal of the Rules-Based International Order” at the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, hosted by the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome. Kurtulmuş continued his speech. Noting that the persistent violation of international law in the face of Israel’s aggression against Palestine cannot be met with silence, he said, “We cannot allow impunity to continue,” and called on the international community to take concrete steps.
Kurtulmuş attached importance to this role. Expressing that he attaches importance to preserving the role of the Council of Europe, of which Türkiye is a founding member, Kurtulmuş described the conference as a unique platform for inter-parliamentary dialogue.
Kurtulmuş recalled the historical framework. Stating that the order established after the Second World War was built on cooperation and dialogue, Kurtulmuş noted that international institutions can no longer fulfill their functions. He expressed regret over geopolitical fragmentation. Emphasizing that the Russia-Ukraine War, ongoing for approximately 5 years, has turned into a war of attrition affecting all of Europe, and that the international order has failed to prevent the genocide that has been taking place in Gaza for more than 3 years, Kurtulmuş said the rules-based order has been eroded in terms of legitimacy and functionality.
Why it matters
Kurtulmuş’s characterization of the conference as a unique platform for inter-parliamentary dialogue shows that the message operates through contacts between legislative bodies and the language of public discourse rather than decision-making mechanisms. The Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly describing the situation in Gaza as genocide at a speakers of parliament session held in Europe demonstrates that Turkey is carrying this characterization, together with international law and criticism of impunity, to European legislative venues. The fact that the observation that international institutions can no longer fulfill their functions appears in the same speech as the emphasis on preserving the Council of Europe’s role shows that Turkey has adopted a position that does not reject the existing order but seeks its repair. The Russia-Ukraine War and the developments in Gaza being cited within the same framework of erosion of legitimacy and functionality demonstrates that two separate crises are being brought together under a single critique of the system. Because the concrete steps requested from the international community were not defined in the speech, the question of which mechanism this call would correspond to in practice remains open.
Background
Kurtulmuş is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: we have published 2 stories mentioning this name in the last 90 days; the most recent is dated October 9, 2026.