Erdoğan ups diplomatic efforts for Gaza

ANKARA

Türkiye is visibly gearing up its diplomatic efforts to facilitate an end to the ongoing Israeli military offensive on Gaza and increasing the volume of humanitarian aid to the civilians stranded in the enclave as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is planned to pay a visit to Algeria on Nov. 21.

President Erdoğan will hold talks with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as well as other senior authorities. In a statement last week, Erdoğan said his talks with President Tebboune will be very important as Algeria is playing a crucial role in North Africa as a strong Muslim state.

The two leaders will discuss the ongoing crisis in the Middle East as an urgent issue as Israel rejects calls for a ceasefire. Türkiye has been one of the most vocal countries in slamming Israel’s indiscriminate offensive that has already claimed the lives of more than 13,000 people, mostly children and women.

The cessation of the armed conflict and launching a new effort for a lasting solution between Israel and Palestine are Türkiye’s two top priorities. President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan have engaged an intense diplomatic mobility to this end since the crisis began on Oct. 7.

President Erdoğan engaged with the leaders of the regional Islamic and Arab countries during a joint meeting by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League in Riyadh. Following Algeria, Erdoğan is planning visits to Egypt and Jordan, two regional heavyweights, in the coming days.

In addition, he will continue his telephone exchanges with the leaders of the relevant countries.

Iranian President due in Türkiye

As part of regional diplomatic mobility, Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi is expected to pay a visit to Türkiye on Nov. 28 for a review of both bilateral relations and regional developments, particularly the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Both countries underline the need for holding an international peace conference to end the bloodshed and start for a peace process that would pledge Palestinians an independent sovereign state.

Türkiye and Iran have been in close contact since the crisis started on Oct. 7. The latter’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian paid a visit to Ankara in November before the scheduled trip of President Reisi.

Other issues Erdoğan and Reisi will raise are the developments in Karabakh amid hopes that Azerbaijan and Armenia will soon sign a lasting agreement. Iran has recently hosted a summit with the participation of the regional countries for peace, stability and cooperation.

The two countries will also review the security situation in the region, namely in Iraq and Syria, the fight against terror and other bilateral affairs, including economy, trade, transportation and energy.