Following a visit to Turkey on his inaugural international trip last week, Pope Leo XIV lauded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his peacemaking abilities and said Turkey has “an important role that it could play” in advancing peace in the Middle East and effectuating a two-state solution. 

“I spoke about this with President Erdogan,” Leo said, referring to a two-state solution, which he called the “only” solution to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reaffirming the Holy See’s longstanding position on the issue. 

“Unfortunately we still haven’t seen a solution,” Leo told reporters upon departing from Istanbul. “We know that in this moment, Israel doesn’t accept [a two-state] solution, but we see it as the only one that can offer a solution to the conflict that they are living in.” 

Erdogan “is certainly in agreement with this proposal,” Leo said.

The pope’s comments and decision to share pleasantries with the Turkish leader have struck some in the pro-Israel community as out of touch and are part a pattern of recent remarks from the Vatican that have been critical of Israel, most notably in its handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza.  

In October, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, described Israel’s conduct in Gaza as an “inhuman massacre” — language Leo later endorsed. In November 2024, the late Pope Francis called for an investigation into whether Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.

Leo’s remarks came after the pope spent three days in Turkey, meeting with leaders of Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of a gathering of bishops in A.D. 325 in present-day Iznik, Turkey. He arrived in Beirut on Sunday for the second leg of his trip, and addressed politicians and religious leaders, including Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the presidential palace.

Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, called the pontiff’s comments on Turkey “odd,” adding that his intentions were likely to “flatter his hosts but have little connection to reality.”

“At the outset of the war in Gaza, the Turkish government could have used its good offices with Hamas and Israel to play a constructive role helping to bring hostages home and bringing about an end to hostilities.” said Cook. “Erdogan chose an entirely different approach that offered significant political and diplomatic support to Hamas, demonized Israel, and [Turkey] was the first country to impose an economic boycott on Israel over the war.”

Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, echoed those sentiments, calling the pope’s comments “flawed” and “fantasy.” However, he noted that popes have a “record of being idealists.” 

“One thing that Leo is probably trying to do is he seems to be much more interested in promoting the potential to pursue any avenue towards establishing peace where he sees conflict,” said Ciddi. “[The pope has] probably been advised that the Turks have sort of demonstrated ability to be a mediator in the Ukraine-Russia conflict … and Turkey is a Muslim country that is able to speak to Hamas and is an ally of the United States … so why not essentially go after that, as opposed to labeling it as a supporter of terrorism.”

The Vatican has long advocated for a two-state framework, formally recognizing a Palestinian state in 2015. But the pope’s renewed push comes as the Israel-Hamas war intensified international pressure on Jerusalem to accept such a model. Earlier this year, several countries — including France, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada — formally recognized a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained his opposition to a Palestinian state, a position that’s shared by a significant majority of the Israeli public in the aftermath of Oct. 7.

The pontiff noted to reporters that the Vatican is “friends with Israel” and seeks to “be a mediating voice that can help bring them closer to a solution with justice for all.” 

Ciddi told Jewish Insider that while Erdogan has been “relentless” in calling upon the pope to condemn Israel, Leo “has ignored that.” 

After his inauguration in May, Leo said that dialogue with the Jewish community is “close to my heart.” 

“Because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism,” the pope said in May. “Theological dialogue between Christians and Jews remains always important and is very close to my heart.”

During his recent trip, Leo indicated a willingness to commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion in Jerusalem in 2033.