Blinken meets Türkiye's Erdogan as war diplomacy tour begins
Published: 06:01 PM,Jan 06,2024 | EDITED : 10:01 PM,Jan 06,2024
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Ibrahim Kalin, head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Agency (MIT), meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Istanbul, Türkiye. — Reuters
ISTANBUL: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was meeting the leaders of Türkiye and Greece on Saturday at the start of a week-long trip aimed at calming tensions that have spiked across the Middle East since Israel's war on Gaza began in October.
The Biden administration's most senior diplomat began in Istanbul, meeting Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan, a strong critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza, for talks.
Blinken and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had earlier discussed the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Türkiye's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Blinken's tour in the coming days will include Arab states, Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he will deliver a message that Washington does not want a regional escalation of the Gaza conflict.
The U.S. official said Türkiye has relationships with many parties in the conflict, a reference to its ties to U.S. adversary Iran and Hamas.
Washington wants regional countries, including Türkiye, to play a role in reconstruction, governance and potentially security in the Gaza Strip.
The European Union's senior diplomat Josep Borrell have both begun a new diplomatic push to stop the spillover from the three-month-old Gaza war into Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Red Sea shipping lanes.
Israel and Lebanese groups often trade fire across the border, the West Bank is seething with emotion and Yemenis seem determined to continue operations on Red Sea shipping lanes until Israel stops bombarding Gaza.
The EU's top diplomat Borrell held talks with the head of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon.
'Pursuing a diplomatic solution (for the region) is not only possible, but essential,' UNIFIL chief Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro said on the Telegram messaging app after the talks.
The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported on Saturday that 18 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli attack on a house east of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
In the West Bank village of Beit Rima, the Palestinian health ministry said a 17-year-old was shot dead by Israeli forces and four other people were injured.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported heavy shelling in Khan Younis on Saturday near the Al-Amal Hospital. Shrapnel flew into the medical facility amid the sound of heavy gunfire from drones, it said in a post on social media platform X.
The traumatised residents of Gaza, most of whose population has been displaced by the bombardment, are facing a devastating humanitarian crisis, with food, medicine and fuel supplies running low. — Reuters
The Biden administration's most senior diplomat began in Istanbul, meeting Türkiye's President Tayyip Erdogan, a strong critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza, for talks.
Blinken and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had earlier discussed the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Türkiye's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Blinken's tour in the coming days will include Arab states, Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he will deliver a message that Washington does not want a regional escalation of the Gaza conflict.
The U.S. official said Türkiye has relationships with many parties in the conflict, a reference to its ties to U.S. adversary Iran and Hamas.
Washington wants regional countries, including Türkiye, to play a role in reconstruction, governance and potentially security in the Gaza Strip.
The European Union's senior diplomat Josep Borrell have both begun a new diplomatic push to stop the spillover from the three-month-old Gaza war into Lebanon, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Red Sea shipping lanes.
Israel and Lebanese groups often trade fire across the border, the West Bank is seething with emotion and Yemenis seem determined to continue operations on Red Sea shipping lanes until Israel stops bombarding Gaza.
The EU's top diplomat Borrell held talks with the head of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) in Lebanon.
'Pursuing a diplomatic solution (for the region) is not only possible, but essential,' UNIFIL chief Lieutenant General Aroldo Lázaro said on the Telegram messaging app after the talks.
The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported on Saturday that 18 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli attack on a house east of the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
In the West Bank village of Beit Rima, the Palestinian health ministry said a 17-year-old was shot dead by Israeli forces and four other people were injured.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported heavy shelling in Khan Younis on Saturday near the Al-Amal Hospital. Shrapnel flew into the medical facility amid the sound of heavy gunfire from drones, it said in a post on social media platform X.
The traumatised residents of Gaza, most of whose population has been displaced by the bombardment, are facing a devastating humanitarian crisis, with food, medicine and fuel supplies running low. — Reuters