FLASH NEWS
Turkey and Iran agree to avoid escalating tensions in the Middle East
2024-01-24 22:12:40 / BOTA
The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raidis, they agreed on the need to avoid steps that could threaten stability in the Middle East even more.
The meeting between Erdogan and Rais took place three months after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas - the Palestinian group declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union - in Gaza.
Turkey, which supports a two-state solution to the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has sharply criticized Israel for its offensive in Gaza, called for an immediate ceasefire and backed legal steps to prosecute Israel for genocide.
Unlike its Western allies and some Arab states, Turkey - which is a member of NATO - does not consider Hamas a terrorist group. This radical Palestinian group carried out attacks in southern Israel on October 7, prompting Israel's military response in Gaza.
Iran leads the so-called "Axis of Resistance," a coalition that includes Hamas and other Shiite Muslim armed groups in the region, groups that have clashed with Israel and its Western allies. Tehran has also expressed support for Hamas.
Speaking at a press conference after his meeting with Rais in Ankara, Erdogan said the two leaders discussed ending Israel's "inhumane" attacks on Gaza and the need to take steps towards a just and lasting peace in the region.
"We agreed on the importance of refraining from steps that could threaten the security and stability of the region even more," he said, adding that the two states also agreed to continue cooperation against cross-border threats by militants.
Despite harsh criticism, Ankara maintains trade ties with Israel, prompting criticism within the country, but also in Iran.
Raisi accused the US of supporting what he described as Israel's crimes against Palestinians in Gaza and repeated Tehran's call for Muslim states to cut economic and political ties with Israel.
What is happening in Palestine and Gaza is a crime against humanity... and the US and the West are supporting these crimes. Severing economic and political relations with this regime would certainly influence the Zionist regime [reference to the state of Israel] to put an end to these crimes."
Turkey and Iran have complicated relations and disagree on many issues, mainly the civil war in Syria.
There, Ankara has backed rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad and has carried out several incursions into northern Syria against militants, while Tehran backs the Syrian government of Assad. Turkey has recently taken steps to improve relations with Damascus.
Rais's visit to Turkey was postponed twice after he was originally scheduled to stay in Ankara in November 2023.
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