Turkiye FM tells Blinken: Israel’s aggression on Gaza needs to stop 

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stressed to his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, the necessity of declaring a complete and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, against which Israel has been waging an aggression for more than a month.

The officials met in Ankara yesterday and discussed regional developments, most notably the war in Gaza and bilateral relations, Anadolu news agency reported citing informed Turkish diplomatic sources.

During the meeting, Fidan stressed to his American counterpart the necessity of “preventing Israel from targeting civilians and displacing them in Gaza” as well as the need to declare a complete and immediate ceasefire.”

“Turkiye and the United States agree on the need not to harm civilians in Gaza, and to deliver humanitarian aid” as well as the need to work together for a two-state solution, a source with knowledge of the meeting said.

During the discussions, the Turkish Foreign Minister assured his American counterpart that bombing civilian targets and destroying infrastructure in Gaza was “unacceptable.”

Blinken’s visit to Turkiye came after visits to Israel and Jordan where he met the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

Blinken also visited the West Bank, during which he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, followed by a visit to Cyprus, where he met with its head of administration, Nikos Christodoulides.

He is now expected to head to Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi.

READ: Antony Blinken arrives in Turkiye for Gaza talks