AI-generated illustration

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli announced that the party's 15th Ordinary Grand Congress will be held on Sunday, February 7, 2027. The decision was announced in a written statement after a joint meeting of the party's Central Executive Board (MYK), Central Disciplinary Board (MDK) and its members of parliament.

Bahçeli said the meeting reviewed political, social and geopolitical developments in Turkey and the surrounding region, and assessed the opportunities and problems facing the country. He also addressed the Eastern Mediterranean, the maritime boundary agreement with Libya, the upcoming summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara and relations with Azerbaijan.

Congress date set after provincial and district congresses

Bahçeli said the party had completed its provincial and district congresses for the 15th Ordinary Congress process in a climate of maturity, unity and solidarity. He said political, social and geopolitical developments at home and in the region were examined from all angles at the meeting, which followed a gathering of provincial chairs on 22 October.

In the statement, Bahçeli said the party views Turkey's survival, the nation's welfare, the state's independence and the unity of the Turkic world as fundamental issues, as it has in the past. He said the party would continue working to remove obstacles facing Turkey, strengthen national unity, raise the country's standing regionally and globally, and build the common future of the Turkic world.

He said the party would not hold back under any circumstances from fulfilling the responsibility entrusted to it by the nation. In that framework, he said, the 15th Ordinary Grand Congress was scheduled for Sunday, February 7, 2027.

Turkey facing a multi-directional strategic encirclement

Bahçeli said the party was closely watching what he described as attempts to place Turkey under a multi-directional strategic encirclement through its neighbors in the Mediterranean basin and its wider surroundings. Developments spanning a broad geopolitical area from the Eastern Mediterranean to North Africa, and from the Middle East to the Caucasus and Turkistan, directly concern Turkey's national security, sovereign rights and regional responsibilities, he said.

He said the Republic of Turkey assesses these developments in all their dimensions, takes the necessary measures on time and resolutely asserts its will to protect national interests, drawing on its state tradition, institutional memory and experience. Attempts to push Turkey into a passive position in its own geography, narrow its room for maneuver or exclude it from regional developments must take account of the state's historical accumulation and the nation's will, he said.

Bahçeli said Turkey's bond with its geography cannot be explained by maps and borders alone, referring to what he called a historical march that began with the Treaty of Mecca and was crowned by the Bedir Accord. He said the duties arising from that legacy are carried out within the authority drawn from the nation's will and the state's capabilities, in line with international law and legitimacy, and that Turkey has a strong will to defend its rights and contribute to regional stability whenever needed.

Libya maritime deal approved by House of Representatives

Bahçeli called the approval by Libya's House of Representatives of the agreement on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas an important development for Turkey's legitimate rights in the Eastern Mediterranean and for regional cooperation. He said the discomfort the move had caused in some quarters revealed once more the nature of the struggle for influence and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

He said Turkey protects the rights it derives from international law, defends its legitimate interests in maritime jurisdiction areas and does not allow others to decide its future. Turkey is a state that uses its diplomatic opportunities when necessary, takes the required legal and political steps and fulfills its responsibility on matters concerning national security, Bahçeli said.

Turkic States Organization summit in Ankara

Bahçeli said the party was also watching approaches that separate Turkey from the Turkic world and seek to realize plans for a Turkic world without Turkey. Relations among Turkic states rest on such a deep historical foundation that they cannot be reduced to political projects, geopolitical calculations or divisive designs imposed from outside, he said.

He said the future of the Turkic world is based on the sovereignty of its independent states, mutual respect, equal partnership, trust and the law of brotherhood, and that the Organization of Turkic States summit to be held in Ankara next week will be an important manifestation of that historical responsibility and shared will. He added that those made uneasy by this unity would find no support against the common will of the brotherly states.

Preserving mutual trust with Azerbaijan

Bahçeli described President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's invitation to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to attend the Ankara summit as important for preserving the historical and strategic value of Turkey-Azerbaijan relations. He said the bonds between the two countries rise above daily political developments and temporary disagreements, resting on shared history, language, culture, mutual trust and the spiritual unity of their people.

Differences of assessment and unresolved issues can of course arise between states, Bahçeli said, adding that what matters is the will to resolve them through mutual understanding and direct dialogue without damaging the law of brotherhood. Preserving the mutual trust between Turkey and Azerbaijan is indispensable for sustaining solidarity between the two states and securing the common future of the Turkic world, he said.

On domestic issues, Bahçeli said the idea that Turkey's social and economic problems are condemned to remain unsolved is at odds with the country's state experience, political will and capacity to produce solutions. He said issues kept on the agenda recently are being used to overshadow real developments and divert public attention, and that it is important to assess anything that could obscure the country's priorities and to act with a sense of responsibility on national matters.

Key takeaways

• MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli announced the party's 15th Ordinary Grand Congress will be held on Sunday, February 7, 2027.
• The decision followed a joint meeting of the party's Central Executive Board, Central Disciplinary Board and its members of parliament.
• Bahçeli welcomed Libya's House of Representatives approving the maritime jurisdiction agreement and said it strengthens Turkey's position in the Eastern Mediterranean.
• He said the Organization of Turkic States summit in Ankara next week will show the shared will of Turkic states, and called trust between Turkey and Azerbaijan indispensable.