Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met this Saturday in Istanbul with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the war in Gaza, and the ratification of the Swedish candidacy for NATO.
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The meeting took place behind closed doors at the Vahdettin mansion in Istanbul was also attended by the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s senior advisor, Akif Cagatay Kilic, and the US ambassador to the Turkish capital, Jeff Flake.
Another important issue that became known was the sale of F-fighters16 to Turkey, but that Erdogan stressed that the parliamentary ratification of his country to Sweden’s membership in NATO depends entirely on the approval by the US Congress to the request for purchase of the aircraft
The tour will follow other countries in the region such as Greece, also this Saturday, and then to Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
"We are mainly focused on preventing the spread of the conflict in Gaza," Blinken said after meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the Greek island of Crete, second stop, after Istanbul, of the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean tour.
On the other hand, Blinken on the Palestinian question "emphasized the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, ensure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance and reduce civilian casualties"said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
"We want to make sure that the countries of the region use the ties and relations they have to make sure that we do not see an escalation," added the head of US diplomacy. In this context, he assured that Turkey has already prepared to "use its relations with critical actors in the region".