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 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 12:20 pm (0920 GMT) on a trip that will also take him to Istanbul

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