Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during negotiations with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a diplomatic source told.
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Blinken’s Middle East tour began on Friday in Turkey, and the secretary of state was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after talks with Fidan.
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“The ministers assessed the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip. Fidan drew attention to the threat to the entire region posed by intensifying Israeli attacks and called for an immediate ceasefire to ensure uninterrupted supplies of humanitarian aid. He also called for the early start of negotiations for a settlement based on the principle “two states,” the source said.
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The ministers also discussed negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the situation in Syria and Iraq and other regional problems.
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Erdogan said in December that in a conversation with his American counterpart Joe Biden, he called on Washington to intervene in the situation in the Gaza Strip.
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In December, the United States vetoed a UAE draft resolution at the UN Security Council demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as well as the release of all hostages without preconditions. Later, the UN General Assembly adopted a similar resolution; the United States voted against it. Unlike UN Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions do not have legally binding force.
