ANKARA - Pope Leo XIV began a four-day visit to Turkey on Thursday, urging Ankara to embrace its role as a mediator in a world gripped by conflict, he said after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Mr President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace," he said in the capital as he began the first overseas trip of his papacy.
"Today more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it, with firm will and patient resolve," said Leo, in a nod to Turkey's growing role in conflict-resolution efforts in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond.
Elected in May as the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the 70-year-old pontiff landed in Ankara shortly after midday (0930 GMT) on a trip that will also take him to Istanbul and the ancient city of Iznik before heading to Lebanon on Sunday.
"I have very much been looking forward to this trip because of what it means for all Christians, but it is also a great message to the whole world," he told reporters on board his plane, describing it as a "historic moment".
A tight cordon of security meant the papal convoy swept through nearly empty streets en route to the vast mausoleum dedicated to the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where Leo paid his respects.
He then headed to the sprawling presidential complex for talks with Erdogan, who is seen as a key player for peace efforts in a region fraught with conflict.
Turkey had a "special role" as a bridge between East and West, Asia and Europe, but was also a "crossroads of sensibilities" that was richer for its "internal diversity", he said, standing in front of a giant globe in the middle of an imposing library at the presidential complex.
"You have an important place in both the present and future of the Mediterranean, and of the whole world, above all by valuing your internal diversity," he said.