Leo begins first foreign trip as Pope with visit to Turkey

Pope Leo arrived at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara (AP)

Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Turkey on his first foreign trip.

The journey fulfils the late Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Orthodox anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a crucial time in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Middle East tensions.

Leo’s charter plane landed at Ankara’s international airport ahead of a meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a speech to the country’s diplomatic corps.

The Pope spoke to reporters aboard a flight on his way to Ankara (AP)

He will then move on to Istanbul for three days of ecumenical and interfaith meetings that will be followed by the Lebanese leg of his trip.

The Pope was welcomed on the tarmac of Ankara’s Esenboga Airport by a military guard of honour.

Strolling along a turquoise carpet, he shook hands with tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, other officials and senior church figures from Turkey.

Speaking to reporters on board his plane, Leo acknowledged the historic nature of his first foreign trip as pontiff and said he has been looking forward to it because of what it means for Christians and for peace in the world.

Leo is preparing to meet the Turkish president (AP)

Leo said he knows the visit to commemorate a key ecumenical anniversary was important for Christians. But he said he hoped his broader message of peace would resonate worldwide.

He added: “We hope to also announce, transmit and proclaim how important peace is throughout the world. And to invite all people to come together to search for greater unity, greater harmony, and to look for the ways that all men and women can truly be brothers and sisters in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs.”

Leo’s visit comes as Turkey, a country of more than 85 million predominantly Sunni Muslims, has cast itself as a key intermediary in peace negotiations for the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Ankara has hosted rounds of low-level talks between Russia and Ukraine and has offered to take part in the stabilisation force in Gaza to help uphold the fragile ceasefire, engagements Leo may applaud in his arrival speech.

Leo is taking part in a six-day trip to Turkey and Lebanon (AP)

Turkey’s growing military weight, as Nato’s largest army after the US, has been drawing Western leaders closer to Erdogan even as critics warn of his crackdown on the country’s main opposition party.

Though support for Palestinians and an end to the war in Ukraine is widespread in Turkey, for Turks who face an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, owing to market turmoil induced by shake-ups in domestic politics, international politics is a secondary concern.

That could explain why Leo’s visit has largely escaped the attention of many in Turkey, at least outside the country’s small Christian community.