FM Çavuşoğlu slams Israeli actions in Al-Aqsa Mosque

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a phone talk with his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, following Israeli interventions on Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque last week, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on April 19.

“As the ministry, we reacted to the events in the West Bank and Masjid al-Aqsa. We have also made our statements in the face of the unacceptable attacks of the Israeli forces. And we continue our contacts. Our president will also have a telephone conversation with Israeli president Herzog,” Çavuşoğlu said, speaking at a joint press conference with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto.

The minister recalled that Erdoğan had a phone conversation with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on April 18 and discussed this issue.

The minister mentioned recent “racist and inti-Islamic actions” taking place in different parts of the world and referred to the Israeli intervention against Palestinians in Jerusalem and West Bank during Ramadan.

“The number of Palestinians who died in the West Bank is 18. Those injured both in the West Bank and in Al-Aqsa Mosque have exceeded 400 in total. This increase in Ramadan is not a coincidence,” he stated.

The minister emphasized that, especially in the West, neo-Nazi movements, including political parties, increase these racist and anti-Islamic attacks.

“As Turks and Muslims, we believe that both anti-Christianity and Islamophobia are crimes against humanity. We need to be against any kind of attack in this direction. We must continue the fight against all forms of racism together,” Çavuşoğlu said.

The minister underlined that the resolution of accepting March 15 as the Day of Fight Against Islamophobia at the U.N. is important.

Referring to the “provocation” of burning the Quran in Sweden, Çavuşoğlu said: “Sweden considers [this] as the freedom of expression. Attacking the sacred of any religion has nothing to do with freedom of expression. This is an effect of the increasing Neo-Nazi.”

Elaborating on the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, Çavuşoğlu said Kiev wanted a guarantee similar to Article 5 of NATO. “It is necessary to find alternative solutions. We are constantly meeting with the parties, and if this is not the case, we discuss what options are possible. We must be prepared for the possibility of a ceasefire,” he said.

Çavuşoğlu also warned that it could take “dozens of years” to restore trust between the West and Russia following Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine. “Of course, we are seeing the start of a new Cold War,” he said.

“It will take a long time to make up for it. It may take dozens of years to restore trust, but we believe that swift steps should be taken for a ceasefire,” the minister said.