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During a regional tour focused on deepening Beijing’s political, security, and strategic partnerships across Southeast Asia, China’s top foreign policy official arrived in Myanmar’s capital Naypyitaw on Saturday to hold talks with the leader of the country’s military-aligned administration.

The meeting brought together Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, who was sworn into office on April 10 following a general election widely dismissed by international critics as neither free nor fair. The poll was structured to cement the military’s hold on national power, five years after the armed forces seized control from Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected civilian government. State-run Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), the junta’s official broadcaster, reported that the two leaders discussed strengthening Myanmar’s diplomatic engagement globally and advancing cooperative initiatives within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Per MRTV’s account, Min Aung Hlaing expressed gratitude for the rapid congratulations extended by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who sent a formal message within hours of Min Aung Hlaing’s election result being confirmed.

China holds extensive geopolitical and economic stakes in Myanmar, holding the status of the country’s largest trading partner and a long-standing strategic ally. Beijing has poured billions of dollars into critical Myanmar infrastructure, including cross-border mines, oil and gas pipelines, and large-scale energy and transport projects. It also ranks alongside Russia as one of Myanmar’s top suppliers of military hardware. Notably, China is among the small handful of nations that have openly endorsed Myanmar’s 2025 election and extended formal congratulations to Min Aung Hlaing following his inauguration.

The 11-nation ASEAN bloc has declined to recognize the outcome of the election, after most major opposition groups were barred from participating, public dissent was heavily restricted, and voting was cancelled entirely in large swathes of the country gripped by ongoing civil conflict. Myanmar’s military leadership has been locked out of top-level ASEAN summits since 2021, after failing to implement a bloc-brokered peace roadmap that required an immediate end to hostilities, inclusive dialogue between all stakeholders, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid. The previous military junta led by Min Aung Hlaing only allowed limited aid entry under strict conditions and failed to comply with any other core terms of the agreement. In his inauguration address earlier this month, Min Aung Hlaing named the restoration of full normal relations with ASEAN as one of his administration’s top policy priorities.

Saturday’s meeting also covered a broad range of other shared priorities, including cross-border stability, expansion of bilateral trade, joint efforts to dismantle transnational cybercriminal networks, and Myanmar’s domestic peace-building initiatives. Beyond its formal ties with Naypyitaw’s central government, China also maintains long-standing working relationships with several major ethnic armed groups operating along the Sino-Myanmar border. One of the most powerful of these is the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which has waged a decades-long campaign for greater autonomy from Myanmar’s central government. Between late 2023 and 2024, the alliance seized control of large areas of territory along the Chinese border and in western Myanmar, a advance that emboldened national resistance forces opposed to military rule to expand their operations across the country. However, a series of ceasefire agreements brokered by China last year halted the alliance’s military progress, allowing Myanmar’s military to recapture key territory and reassert its strategic advantage from mid-2025 onward.

In a high-profile address at the University of Oxford on Friday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan laid out Turkey’s evolving role in the shifting global order, framing Ankara as an influential “middle power” uniquely equipped to broker diplomacy across the world’s most intractable conflicts.

Speaking at an event organized by the Global Orders Programme of the Oxford Centre for Global History, Fidan argued that the rising influence of middle powers marks a fundamental structural shift in modern international politics. In an era of unprecedented global uncertainty, he noted, nations with deep-rooted strategic histories are better positioned to navigate instability and bridge divides between competing actors.

Fidan emphasized that global politics today desperately requires actors committed to sustained diplomacy, de-escalation of tensions, and keeping open channels of dialogue — and he made clear Turkey views itself as a leading state ready to fill that role. “It is no coincidence that in many international circles today, Turkey is increasingly referred to as the adult in the room,” he stated.

The remarks came against a tense backdrop: a fragile temporary ceasefire is holding between the U.S. and Iran, with indirect diplomatic talks set to get underway in Islamabad this weekend amid persistent uncertainty over the future of the broader conflict. The nine-week conflict has already claimed thousands of lives and sent shockwaves through global energy markets, after Iran partially closed the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass. The closure has driven energy prices sharply upward and reduced shipping traffic to a small fraction of pre-war levels.

Addressing ongoing behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran, Fidan confirmed Turkey has been actively facilitating communication between the two sides. “I think I’ve been in constant communications with both sides… we are trying to help as much as we could whenever it is necessary,” he told reporters, adding that Ankara leverages its long-standing ties with both nations to deliver messages between parties and build momentum for negotiation. He added that Turkey’s long-standing mediation framework avoids imposing outcomes on conflicting sides, instead focusing on creating conditions for parties to reach their own negotiated settlements.

On the topic of recent U.S. threats of punitive measures against NATO allies that refused to back its hardline stance on Iran — including reported discussion of potential expulsion of Spain from the alliance — Fidan noted Turkey itself has not faced similar pressure from Washington. “I think we are in good coordination with the leadership of the US,” he told Middle East Eye, adding that just two weeks prior, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump to congratulate him on agreeing to the ceasefire and joining diplomatic talks.

Fidan reiterated Turkey’s long-held position that any military action against Iran was premature, noting that diplomatic talks had the potential to produce tangible progress. He also expressed solidarity with Spain, saying, “I respect the position of the European countries… Spain is following a steady and stable line… asking for peace in Gaza, in Iran, in Russia. I think this is a position we also adopt.”

Beyond the US-Iran conflict, Fidan highlighted Turkey’s ongoing mediation efforts in other global hotspots, including the war in Ukraine. Ankara has previously hosted direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials, and remains engaged in diplomatic efforts. However, he noted that global attention has shifted toward the Middle East due to the far faster, broader global spillover from the US-Israel-Iran conflict. “The human tragedy… is huge, unbearable,” he said of the war in Ukraine, but added that the current Middle East conflict has had even wider global ripple effects in a shorter time frame.

Looking ahead to the upcoming talks in Pakistan, where U.S. negotiators including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to arrive Saturday, Fidan offered cautious optimism. Iranian officials have signaled they will not hold direct talks with U.S. delegates, instead conveying their positions through third-party mediators. Fidan noted that both sides are feeling mounting pressure from the ongoing conflict, which could push them toward a negotiated resolution.

He also laid out potential outcomes for the Strait of Hormuz, the critical energy chokepoint at the center of the conflict. The first, preferred outcome is a negotiated return to the pre-conflict status quo, with unimpeded free maritime passage and no additional restrictions or costs for shipping. If talks collapse and conflict resumes, however, Fidan noted Turkey will evaluate its position aligned with its core foreign policy priorities, with President Erdogan already clear on the country’s approach.

Fidan also signaled that Turkey would be open in principle to joining multinational demining operations in the Strait of Hormuz if a final peace agreement is reached between Iran and the U.S., framing such work as a humanitarian duty. “If Iran and the Americans reach an agreement and peace is achieved, a coalition could carry out technical work there, including mine clearance,” he said. He stressed, however, that any Turkish participation would be contingent on the broader political context, and Ankara would re-evaluate its involvement if the coalition were dragged into renewed hostilities.

Fidan’s visit to the U.K. marked a two-day diplomatic trip that culminated in the signing of a new strategic partnership agreement between Turkey and the United Kingdom. Turkey is also set to host the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara this coming July.

ISLAMABAD, April 25 — A high-level diplomatic visit from Iran to Pakistan kicked off late Thursday night local time, with top diplomats set to hold key discussions on escalating regional tensions that have drawn international attention in recent months.

Local Pakistani media outlets confirmed Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi touched down in Islamabad on the evening of April 24 at the head of a nine-member official delegation. Immediately following his arrival, the Iranian foreign minister held an early morning closed-door meeting with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir, according to initial reports from the region.

Araghchi’s schedule for Saturday includes a formal summit with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where the two sides will center talks on the evolving regional security situation, multiple local media sources have confirmed. Senior officials from Pakistan’s federal government and military command are also expected to participate in the talks, the reports added.

During the scheduled meeting with the Pakistani prime minister, the Iranian delegation will deliver an official message from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Pakistani leadership, according to people familiar with the diplomatic agenda. The exact content of the message has not been released to the public as of Friday afternoon, but diplomatic sources note the visit comes amid growing cross-border security concerns and shifting geopolitical dynamics across South Asia and the broader Middle East.

The visit marks the highest-level in-person diplomatic exchange between the two neighboring nations in 2026 so far, and comes as both countries work to strengthen bilateral coordination on shared security and regional challenges. Analysts point that close alignment between Islamabad and Tehran has grown increasingly critical as instability in neighboring regions spills across borders, making this round of talks a key moment for bilateral and regional diplomacy.