Turkish PM says Gaza visit set to take place in June and include West Bank

WASHINGTON

Erdoğan had previously said he intended to visit Gaza in April, before saying announcing that the trip would finally take place after his talks in the United States. AA photo

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his visit to Gaza would probably take place in June and include the West Bank, during his joint press conference with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Rose Garden of the White House May 16. "I believe that my visit to Gaza will contribute much to the Palestine alliance and [regional] peace," Erdoğan said, adding that it was out of the question for Turkey to show support just to one of the Palestinian groups. "I give much importance to contributing to Palestinian peace," he said

Obama emphasized the importance of the normalization of Turkish-Israeli relations, saying it would contribute to advancing the two-state solution to the Middle East problem. Erdoğan said compensation negotiations between Turkey and Israel for the eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American dual citizen were continuing.

Erdoğan had previously said he intended to visit Gaza in April, before saying announcing that the trip would finally take place after his talks in the United States. Meanwhile Washington did not initially fully back the plan as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he asked Erdoğan to postpone his Gaza visit during a meeting on the sidelines of a Friends of Syria meeting in Istanbul last month.