New York, Sept. 22 -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed in Manhattan with a stark proposition for the 80th session of the UN General Assembly: Put Gaza at the center, back formal recognition of a Palestinian state, and test whether a guarded reset with Washington can yield real movement on trade and defense. The Turkish leader is also using UN week to open a consequential Syria channel, betting that Ankara can shape a postwar regional order rather than endure one written by others.

Erdogan's aides say his address will be constructed around three planks. First is Gaza, which he will frame as the defining moral collapse of the current international system. Second is recognition of Palestine, an issue that has gathered momentum ...