Erdogan’s senior party member nominates him for Nobel Peace Prize

Turkish parliamentary speaker Mustafa Sentop announced that he has nominated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a candidate for next year’s 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

"I have nominated President Erdogan for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his peace efforts between Russia and Ukraine,” Sentop said, InternetHaber news website reported on Wednesday.

"I’ve made an application for the nomination. Speakers and lawmakers from different countries will also nominate Erdogan,” Sentop said.

NATO member Turkey who has forged close relations with Russia in recent years, sought to act as a mediator between Moscow and Kyiv amid Ukraine war. Turkey’s diplomatic efforts along with the United Nations paved the way for a grain deal between Russia and Ukraine to reopen Ukraine’s Black Sea ports for grain exports in July.

However, President Erdogan’s and his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) policies against regional countries such as Greece, Syria and Iraq, have frequently criticized by the international powers of being aggressive.

Most recently, Erdogan threatened neighboring Greece to strike its capital Athens with missiles. Turkish military also conducting aerial strikes into Northern Syria and Northern Iraq since last month, targeting Kurdish militants who deems to be terrorists. Erdogan also signalled a ground offensive into Syria, a move that met strong condemnation from the West, including the United States and the European Union.

Erdogan government’s human rights record is also a matter of strong concern for the Western powers.

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.