Erdoğan holds phone talks with world leaders during elections

ANKARA

In the midst of local election tallies, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has engaged in diplomatic exchanges via telephone with several global leaders, including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Uzbekistan leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

According to a statement released by the Communications Directorate, Erdoğan's discussion with Raisi focused on the bilateral relations between the nations. Additionally, they addressed Israel's recent actions in Palestinian territories and the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.

Erdoğan emphasized the urgency of implementing the U.N. Security Council's ceasefire decision in Gaza and stressed the importance of "unity between Hamas and Fatah" to achieve this. Furthermore, he underscored the necessity of collaborative efforts to prevent Israel from exacerbating tensions in the area.

Following this conversation, Erdoğan conferred with Rutte, where they delved into the bilateral relations between Türkiye and the Netherlands. Notably, Erdoğan expressed Türkiye's expectations regarding Rutte's candidacy for the NATO secretary-general position.

He urged NATO members to make substantial commitments to effectively combat terrorism and other challenges, taking into consideration the concerns of non-EU allies.

The final call of the day was with Mirziyoyev, during which they discussed bilateral relations between Türkiye and Uzbekistan, alongside various global and regional issues. Erdoğan extended his gratitude to Mirziyoyev for his congratulations on Türkiye's local elections.

Additionally, Erdoğan conveyed appreciation to Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov for the well wishes regarding the local elections.