Fidan, Blinken meet in Ankara for Gaza talks
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara to discuss the latest situation in Gaza and regional and bilateral issues.
Blinken arrived in the Turkish capital following a tour of the Middle East focused on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
His first visit to Türkiye since Israel went to war in reprisal for the Hamas Oct. 7 attack did not include a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was traveling in Türkiye’s northeast, seemingly a snub of Washington’s top diplomat.
The U.S. secretary of state made a surprise visit to the occupied West Bank on Sunday, where he met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Blinken’s surprise visit was not limited to the West Bank, as he also visited Iraq and the Greek Cypriot administration.
During his Baghdad visit, Blinken was seen wearing a bulletproof vest.
In the past week, he met counterparts in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he faced a chorus of Arab calls to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.
Israel says it could accept a "humanitarian pause" to allow in additional shipments of aid once Hamas frees the hostages.
Blinken has supported the Israeli position while trying to assure regional players that Washington is focused on relieving humanitarian suffering.
Erdoğan said on Sunday it was “Türkiye’s duty” as a supporter of an independent Palestinian state to immediately stop the violence.
He said Ankara was “working behind the scenes” with regional allies to secure an uninterrupted stream of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
But he has cut off contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called back Ankara’s ambassador to Israel in protest.
Erdoğan has also accused the West of double standards and losing its moral authority.
“Those who shed crocodile tears for the civilians killed in the Ukraine-Russia war are now quietly watching the killing of thousands of innocent children,” Erdoğan said last month.
The Health Ministry in Gaza on Monday said at least 9,770 people had been killed, half of which women and children, in more than four weeks of Israeli strikes in the blockaded city.
AA-DailySabah
