Erdogan Heads to Washington for NATO Leaders’ Summit, Focuses on Gaza Crisis
Washington, D.C., The Gulf Observer: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has departed for Washington to attend the NATO Leaders’ Summit taking place from July 9-11.
Before his departure on Tuesday, Erdogan addressed the media, stating, “During the NATO leaders’ summit, we will raise the massacres of the Palestinian people in Gaza, where our shared values are going through a sincerity test.”
Erdogan emphasized the failure of the international community to halt Israeli actions and the necessity for a just and lasting peace in Palestine. “We will emphasize that the international community has failed to stop Israel and that the global conscience will not be able to breathe a sigh of relief until a just and lasting peace is established in Palestine,” he stated. Erdogan also mentioned that he would present Ankara’s perspectives in bilateral meetings with allied country leaders.
He added, “We patiently follow the process of Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha. Our intelligence chief and foreign minister are monitoring it closely. Hopefully, we’ll achieve the expected results soon.”
In related developments, Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, and CIA Director William Burns arrived in Egypt on Monday for discussions on a Gaza ceasefire and a potential prisoner swap deal between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas. Israeli media also reported that David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, will travel to Qatar on Wednesday to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, CIA Director Burns, and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel.
Efforts led by the US, Qatar, and Egypt to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas have faced significant challenges, primarily due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to accede to Hamas’ demands for a cessation of hostilities.
