Turkish president, FM discuss Palestine with Pakistani counterpart

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on May 18 met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Ankara to discuss the situation in Palestine amid continual Israeli bombardment.

Discussed Israel's atrocities in Palestine, our relations and Afghan peace process, Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.

"Nothing can shake our resolve as we stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Palestine in their legitimate right to self-determination & establishment of independent state with pre-1967 border and Al-Quds Al Sharif as capital," Qureshi said in a separate tweet.

Over 200 Palestinians have been killed, including children and women, and 1,500 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since May 10, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The airstrikes were preceded by days of tension and Israeli aggression in occupied East Jerusalem, where hundreds of Palestinians were assaulted by Israeli forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Both Turkish and Pakistani leaderships have reached out to world leaders and international organizations in their efforts to protect Palestinians.

The same evening, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Qureshi in Ankara.

Çavuşoğlu also attended the closed-door meeting between Erdogan and Qureshi.