Türkiye on Monday welcome Palestinian group Hamas announcing it had agreed to a Gaza cease-fire deal, adding that Ankara expects the same step to be taken by Israel, said the country’s president.
“We welcome Hamas’ announcement that it accepted a cease-fire deal in Gaza with our efforts, and the same step should be taken by Israel,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting.
Erdogan also urged “Western actors” to pressure the Israeli government to accept the cease-fire deal.
“We believe that there is no door that dialogue and negotiation cannot open,” he said, underlining the importance of “good intentions and diplomacy.”
Türkiye has repeatedly pressed for a cease-fire in Gaza since the early days of the conflict, some seven months ago, and has called on all countries worldwide to help make a deal happen.
Erdogan also reiterated Türkiye’s determination to fight terrorism in the region “until we drain the terrorism swamp in northern Iraq,” referring to the presence there of the terrorist PKK.
On his visit last month to Iraq after a 13-year break, Erdogan said it had “historical importance” in terms of both its results and the messages it sent.
Iraqi and Turkish officials discussed especially issues of security, transportation, energy and water, he said, adding that they crowned the visit with 27 agreements signed in various fields.
Stressing that the Iraqi government’s declaration of the PKK as a banned organization is a significant step in fighting terrorism, he said: “We also said that we expect the PKK to be declared a terrorist organization.”
Turning to the PKK’s Syrian branch, the YPG/PKK, he added: “We will definitely complete our unfinished business in (northern) Syria when the time comes, due to promises made by our allies that have not been kept.”
Türkiye has complained that the U.S. and Russia failed to keep their pledges to keep the terrorist YPG/PKK at least 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Syria’s border with Türkiye.
Source: Anadolu Agency
