March 25, 2019
Peters praised for calm response
A defence of Foreign Minister Winston Peters for his outreach to Islamic countries.
Mr Peters got slammed by some in the New Zealand media for his flying trip to Turkey.
One commentator claimed he fell asleep during an emergency conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the Christchurch terror attack, and failed to raise with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan New Zealand’s anger at his use of footage from the Christchurch gunman in his election rallies.
Political commentator Chris Trotter says rather than being a diplomatic doormat as charged, the 74-year old was displaying a lifetime of political skill in an extremely fraught situation.
"He was very calm. He did nothing to inflame the situation. He spoke to the president, he spoke to the Islamic Federation, and what has emerged from that is comments by President Erdogan himself and from the federation that recognise New Zealand’s response as being compassionate and inclusive. In terms of protecting our national security and our national reputation I think the Foreign Minister has done us proud," he says.
Winston Peters said yesterday he was not sleeping at the conference but was in deep contemplation.
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