Fidan to attend Gaza contact group meeting in Cairo

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that he will attend the Gaza Contact Group’s meeting in Cairo on March 23 where prominent Muslim countries will discuss the necessity of returning to the ceasefire regime between Israel and Hamas.

“Our priority will be to return to the ceasefire [between Israel and Hamas] and deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians,” Fidan said at a press conference with visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on March 21 in Ankara.

The two ministers discussed all aspects of bilateral ties as well as regional and international matters, including the developments in Syria, Israel’s breaking the ceasefire and killing hundreds of civilians, as well as the United States-led efforts to bring an end to the Russian occupation of Ukraine.

On Gaza, Fidan urged that Israel’s decision to re-start attacks against Gaza can ignite bigger problems in the region and beyond, stressing the need for returning to a ceasefire followed by talks for a negotiated agreement.

The minister informed that the Gaza Contact Group, composed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League, will hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday in Cairo and he will attend it. The group was composed by prominent Muslim states to end the Israeli aggression on civilians and facilitate a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem.

Fidan said hundreds of people were killed at the hands of the Netanyahu government, who has already lost all humanity.

On the war between Russia and Ukraine, Fidan said Türkiye lends full support to the Trump administration’s effort to bring an end to the armed conflict ahead of Washington-Moscow meetings scheduled for next week in Saudi Arabia.

“Türkiye is ready to contribute to the peace efforts as stated by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,” said Fidan.

Szijjarto, for his part, also welcomed Trump’s bid to resolve the problem between Russia and Ukraine.

“I want to congratulate Türkiye because it was the country that could bring the two warring sides together before Trump came to power,” the Hungarian minister stressed, recalling that both Türkiye and Hungary have always been on the peace camp unlike many European countries.

On the European security, Szijjarto recalled that European security architecture will not be complete if it excludes Türkiye and Russia.