Foreign minister embarks on Balkan tour

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan commenced a four-day diplomatic tour of the Balkans today, aiming to address regional and global issues of mutual concern.

The tour, scheduled from Jan. 28 to 31, will see Fidan engaging with officials in Albania, Bulgaria and Romania, according to a statement released by the Turkish ministry.

Notably, Fidan's agenda includes talks with Turkish business figures and representatives of Turkish communities residing in these countries, read the statement.

The minister's tour follows his recent meeting with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who was in Istanbul as the last stop of his four-day trip to the Middle East that included Israel, Palestine and Qatar.

The top diplomats discussed the ongoing Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip and Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Cameron’s first trip to Türkiye since assuming his current role.

Türkiye has long been pressing on the international community to convince Israel for a ceasefire and the start of diplomatic efforts to find a lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli question.