Ankara concerned of spillover of war in Mideast: Fidan
Serkan Demirtaş - ANKARA
Türkiye has expressed its growing concerns over the potential spread of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas to the entire Middle East amid military escalation as a result of attacks on senior Hamas officials and targets in Iran.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Ankara bureau chiefs of the media outlets on Jan. 3 and discussed the course of the regional developments, particularly the ongoing conflict in Gazza that claimed the lives of more than 20,000 civilians at the hands of Israeli security forces since Oct. 7 last year.
“[The attacks against commercial ships in the Red Sea] demonstrates the scale of the escalation in the region that we have long been warning about. The regional spillover of the war is a serious risk,” Fidan told reporters.
The entire region has seen mounting violence in recent days after Israel killed a senior Hamas official in Beirut and two explosions hit separate targets on Iranian soil. Iran-linked Houthi groups have been attacking the commercial ships passing through the Red Sea in the past weeks, prompting reactions from the Western powers.
“As you know, regardless of the Palestinian question, some countries in the region have various problems with the West and the United States. This is a multidimensional conflict which time to time evolves from the intelligence sphere to the armed conflict,” he stated.
It’s difficult to predict to what extent this new escalation is about the Palestinian matter, Fidan stressed. “But, at the end of the day, whatever happens in the region seems to be affiliated with the ongoing massacre in Gaza. It is a real danger that this war can be spread. We explain this to both Eastern and Western countries.”
US top diplomat due in Türkiye
According to Fidan, Israel is hardly containing itself from staging a war against Lebanon. “I always say: This is a dead-end street. This war will never end if that happens. To the contrary, if they want to resolve the problem, then [efforts for] peace and two-state solution should prevail,” he stated.
Fidan also informed that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to pay a visit to Türkiye on Jan. 6.
The two men had a number of telephonic and in-person meetings since the beginning of the crisis in the Middle East on Oct. 7 last year. It will be Blinken’s second visit to Türkiye in the same period.
Fidan and Blinken will raise the ongoing Israeli attacks on the civilians stranded in Gaza as the most immediate and urgent matter. Türkiye has long been pressing on the U.S. to stop its support to the Israeli offensive that killed more than 20,000 civilians so far and launch a campaign for a ceasefire to be followed with efforts to reach a lasting solution on the Israeli-Palestinian question on the basis of a two-state solution.
In his remarks to the media, Fidan acknowledged the fact that the unity and solidarity of the Muslim world towards the continued attacks by Israel has shown the importance of becoming one voice in defending the rights of the Palestinians.
“The manifestation of the togetherness of the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation has been very effective. The activities and the rhetoric of the Contact Group were also very important,” Fidan said, referring to a group composed of prominent Islamic countries to put pressure on the Western world for an immediate ceasefire.
“It’s important that we act together. Our efforts will be more powerful in case we stand together to this end,” he added.
The Turkish foreign minister stressed the importance of more pressure on the West, particularly on the United States, to reach a ceasefire and launch a process for peace in the Middle East.
“The Western officials nowadays admit that they are losing the reputation of the system they have built. This is a huge moral collapse on their side,” Fidan stated.
