Türkiye prioritizes ceasefire in Gaza war, Erdoğan says

ASTANA

Türkiye's top priority in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas is the urgent establishment of a ceasefire, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated.

"For exactly 28 days, crimes against humanity have been committed in Gaza... Innocent children are being brutally murdered. There is no excuse for this brutality," Erdoğan declared in his address during the 10th summit of the heads of state of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) on Nov. 3.

The president described the Israeli military's actions in Gaza as a "human tragedy" and insisted that their priority is to swiftly establish a humanitarian ceasefire in the region.

In addition, Erdoğan reiterated Türkiye's efforts to lay the groundwork for a proposed international peace conference.

"We are working on new mechanisms that will guarantee the security of everyone, whether Muslim, Christian or Jew," he stated.

Earlier this week, Erdoğan declared Türkiye's willingness to take responsibility for establishing a new security mechanism in the Gaza Strip, in collaboration with regional actors. "Our goal is to get our region out of this whirlpool it has been dragged into," he said.

The Turkish leader stressed the importance of unity within the Turkic world, emphasizing that solidarity among these nations "would pave the way for a ceasefire and, eventually, a lasting peace."

Erdoğan met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, İlham Aliyev, on the sidelines of the summit, where they discussed bilateral relations, regional and global issues and the Gaza conflict.

Erdoğan emphasized the need for the international community to send strong messages to "ensure Israel's compliance with international law."

The leaders also discussed the normalization process between Türkiye and Armenia and the ongoing post-conflict situation between the latter and Azerbaijan, according to Erdoğan's office.

The two-day summit, hosted by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev under the theme "Turk Time," brought together leaders from member countries including Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Hungary, Turkish Cyprus and Turkmenistan are observer states to the organization.