US diplomat Blinken meets Turkey’s Erdogan, kicking off Gaza diplomacy tour
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met senior Turkish officials in Istanbul before heading to Greece, his first stops on a week-long trip aimed at calming tensions that have spiked across the Middle East since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October.
In his meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Blinken “emphasised the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, secure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance and reduce civilian casualties”, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Saturday.
Blinken also stressed the need to work towards broader, lasting regional peace that ensures Israel’s security and advances the establishment of a Palestinian state, Miller added.
“In Turkey, we focused extensively on what Turkey can do, using its influence, using its ties, to help prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading,” Blinken said, speaking to journalists in Crete on Saturday evening.
“We also talked about the role that Turkey can play, both in the day after for Gaza, in terms of the challenging questions of Palestinian-led governance, security, rebuilding, as well as the work that it can do to try to produce more lasting durable peace and security in the region.”
Erdogan, a fierce critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, had skipped a meeting with Blinken when the US diplomat visited Ankara in November over Washington’s staunch backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
On Saturday, Blinken also met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and discussions focused on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said.
In his conversation with Blinken, Fidan pointed to Israel’s escalating aggression, saying it poses a threat to the entire region. He also underlined the necessity of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, allowing the permanent delivery of aid, and stressed the need to return to two-state solution negotiations as soon as possible, the ministry added.
‘Deescalation’
The US’s strained relationship with Turkey precedes the current war, with the two nations also feuding over foreign policy issues ranging from NATO to Iraq.
Ankara is frustrated by the delay in approval from the US Congress for a $20bn deal for 40 F-16 fighter jets. Washington is waiting for Turkey to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
On Saturday, Blinken and Fidan addressed Ankara’s process to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership, according to officials from both sides. Blinken said they had discussed “final steps in the process”.
US officials are confident Ankara will soon approve Sweden’s accession after it won the Turkish parliament’s backing last month, a senior State Department official travelling with Blinken told the Reuters news agency.
As part of Blinken’s whistlestop tour of several countries, he travelled from Turkey to the island of Crete to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday. Fellow NATO member Greece is awaiting the US Congress’s approval of the sale of F-35 fighter jets.
Post Greece, Blinken’s tour in the coming days will include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the occupied West Bank, where he will deliver a message that Washington does not want a regional escalation of the Gaza conflict. Blinken also hopes to make progress in talks about how Gaza could be governed if and when Israel achieves its aim of eradicating Hamas.
Blinken’s trip has “three main messages”, said Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor of Gulf studies at Qatar University: deescalation of the conflict; the humanitarian crisis; and what happens the day after the war ends.
“Washington doesn’t seem to be happy over the statements coming from the government of Netanyahu talking about the displacement of the people. They seem to want to put pressure on Netanyahu, especially with London, Paris and Germany saying the status quo of Gaza should not be changed,” Zweiri told Al Jazeera.
Blinken has said Washington wants regional countries, including Turkey, to play a role in reconstruction, governance and potentially security in the Gaza Strip, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
At least 22,722 people have been killed and 58,166 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The revised death toll from the October attack on Israel stands at 1,139 people.
