The international conference entitled “The Alliance to Prevent a Great War,” organized by the World Civilizations Initiative Research Center, was held at the Meyra Palace Hotel in Ankara on 18–19 July 2026.
UWI will present the speeches held on the conference during the coming days.
The conference, which featured presentations by speakers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Japan, Russia, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States, was attended by approximately 200 distinguished invited guests.
Ministers, members of parliament, ambassadors, retired generals, scholars, politicians, diplomats, military officers, and experts examined the question of the “Alliance to Prevent a Great War” from a wide range of perspectives.
Below, we present the speech of UWI author Dimitris Konstantakopoulos. The title was set by UWI.
Dear conference participants, good afternoon. I am trying to find something a bit provocative, engaging, or funny because around this time during conferences, it is somewhat difficult for people to focus on what is being said. First of all, I would like to thank the organization for their kind invitation, and thank you for bestowing this honor upon me by assigning me this moderating duty.
In particular, engaging in dialogue and coming together with the anti-imperialist community is very important to me. Engaging in a direct dialogue, being able to carry out this dialogue even on the most challenging issues, is truly invaluable to me. At the same time, at this point, I feel immense happiness—contrary to exploiting the dispute between Türkiye and Greece—to be engaging in this dialogue [grunts]. Especially in the first half of the 20th century, and even before that, policies and diplomacy were constantly conducted over this dispute between the two communities. We are doing the exact opposite. This is quite wonderful. I was also invited to the previous conference by Mr. Perinçek’s party.
I do not think we will reach a conclusion in the near future that will satisfy us regarding resolving the disputes between Greeks and Turks, or even the Cyprus issue, which has a deep-rooted place in the history of the region. However, what we must do here is not fall for provocations, set such issues aside, and avoid taking any position that could cause hostility or be exploited by third parties. We should abide by agreements, carefully evaluate geopolitical projects, and avoid facing unwanted consequences.
At this point, I do not want to talk too much about these issues because this is not a conference specifically about Turks, Greeks, or Cyprus. Now, I would like to express this: the topic you have chosen for your conference today is very important. Everyone clearly sees that there are escalating wars in both West Asia, the West, and the East. For instance, the Ukraine-Russia war is one of them, and these are conflicts with the potential to turn into nuclear wars. Unfortunately, they could turn into very significant conflicts that will leave deep wounds on all of us. A nuclear disaster, unfortunately, is at everyone’s doorstep.
At this point, we naturally see ourselves staying increasingly trapped in this tension. Unfortunately, we see that the parties to this conflict cannot come together in any way or properly conduct peace negotiations. In the Western world, I would like to express that I believe there is an irrationality at play. Sometimes we assume the West will be smart, reasonable, and act in a rational, logical manner. However, these days we see that this is unfortunately not the case, and it is not always guaranteed.
For instance, Trump’s current reckless initiative against Iran—which I do not think is entirely reckless, as it was launched alongside fake propaganda from the Israeli lobby—shows us that he does not want to accept reality. Yes, he is acting irrationally. Netanyahu had already been operating within a framework of irrationality for a long time, pursuing an unfounded and irrational policy as if saying, “Let there be a nuclear war in West Asia, let it happen all over the world, so that I can seize reign; I want sovereignty not just regionally, but over the whole world.” But now we see the same thing in Trump, and these must not be ignored. At the same time, certain crazy ideas can be triggered, and this reality must also be taken into account.
To give an example from the Western bloc, irrational ideas can be put forward, such as suggesting that to prevent a nuclear war in Russia, “At least we should enter into further escalation.” Thankfully, official statements coming from Russia indicate that if there were to be a global nuclear war, Russia would not be the side to start it [grunts]. And we all see and experience that we are definitely facing an ever-increasing tension. Perhaps that is the purpose.
Why, for example, would Israel assassinate Haniyeh in Iran? Because they actually want a permanent war. Haniyeh, on the contrary, was able to maintain Iran’s position, staying as stable as possible. Even a peace agreement could have been made between the two. However, Israel does not want that. Israel wants permanent tension, conflict, and war. Sometimes we cannot even predict how these people think because they are not rational people. When they reach a certain point, we see monsters emerging in the crisis of capitalism. So capitalism—look, I am blaming capitalism here, I am talking about capitalism [grunts]…
Now, in the theme of our conference, we are talking about an alliance. Yes, this alliance is truly very important. It is important for states to form an alliance. The purpose of this alliance must naturally be to prevent a global nuclear war. Because we are already in the midst of large and small wars, but we need this alliance to prevent further escalation. I completely agree with you on this point. Perhaps we understand this situation better than the Russians or the Chinese do. Creating such an alliance is definitely crucial. Having an alliance that includes Russia, China, and of course Türkiye and Iran is very important. The goal here would be to prevent the outbreak of a war.
And perhaps this initiative will be enough, or perhaps it will not. Let me express this: irrationality in world wars is actually a symptom of capitalism; it is a crisis of capitalism. We suffer from this. This is what actually triggers wars. And the West will not win this war against the rest of humanity. But what will it do? That is capitalism for you; it brings humanity to that brink. Rather than losing its hegemony, it would rather destroy humanity. Let it be destroyed, as long as its hegemony is not lost.
At this point, I believe we must form an alliance not only between states, but also among social forces, powers, and organizations. Because nations that are under pressure or on the periphery of the system rather than its center—China is like that too—these states that are enemies of the West become the targets of this war. Moscow, I think… Mr. Trump cannot help himself at this point, he cannot stop himself. Whether Moscow likes it or not, it needs to form a general strategic alliance against the West. And our Chinese friends saying, “Oh fine, in such an environment we will just mind our own business and focus on our production,” does not prevent the war either.
There is a reality before us, and that is war. We experienced this in World War I as well; the footsteps came first, and then we experienced the war itself. Now, merely relying on good intentions will not be enough to prevent such a war from happening. The analogy of World War is very useful for us. In the meantime, we have seen that since 1945, no war has yielded any gain. Therefore, we must end and conclude this domination and reign model as soon as possible. Sovereignty should not belong to just a single nation or state, because holding onto this sovereignty comes at a truly massive cost [music] for the country itself.
We also have other issues; artificial intelligence, climate change, and so on. We are not just facing war itself. We are facing the most significant crises in human history, and I believe we are really not taking the necessary precautions for them. At this point, we certainly have sufficient power to participate in this war, but the larger the war grows and the broader its scale becomes, the greater the global catastrophe will be. Therefore, as an international community, we must organize differently. Civilizations must organize differently. Meaning, it should not be a military organization, but a community and civil society organization.
At this point, Asia… I am never against such civilizations coming together and forming alliances in Asia. We are not entirely the West either; let’s say we are a little bit Western. I believe we should also take part in such alliances. So if there were a Eurasian alliance or an Asian alliance, why not? But these need to be societal alliances.
And again, if I remember correctly, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye was quite influenced by and fond of the French Revolution. Similarly, Lenin actually carried out his reform based on the ideas of a German philosopher. Therefore, such interactions are definitely important for us. As long as it benefits humanity, let such interactions and reforms be carried out in this direction.
Yes, of course I would have many more topics, ideas, and thoughts to share, but I want to respect our time and proceed in line with the guidance given to me. I would like to conduct the moderation in this manner. Thank you very much once again.