The heads of Turkish and Iranian diplomacy, respectively Hakan Fidan and Amir Abdollahian, called yesterday, in Ankara, for an international conference to be held as soon as possible, to avoid a regional war originating in the current Israel-Hamas conflict
“The Iranian President proposed a meeting with regional leaders, Muslim and Arab countries, as quickly as possible to put an end to the war” in the Gaza Strip, declared the Iranian minister at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara , cited by the agency France-Presse (AFP). According to the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, “countries in the region must assume their responsibilities”, otherwise “this spiral of violence will continue to be reproduced in the region”, he argued. “We do not want the human tragedy in Gaza to turn into a war that will affect countries in the region”, added the Turkish official, expressing his “concern”.
Hakan Fidan expressed concern about the “geographical spread of the conflict”, having discussed with his Iranian counterpart that there are, according to Tehran, “strong indications indicating that other armed elements in the region could intervene in the conflict if conditions do not change”. “A ceasefire and peace are essential more than ever,” he added, accusing the European Union (EU) of “not wanting to hear about” this possibility and of giving Israel a free hand in its war against Hamas. According to the head of Turkish diplomacy, Ankara is working for “a ceasefire and humanitarian aid, but the EU does not want to hear about a ceasefire”, further accusing Brussels of doing “nothing for humanitarian aid”.
“They position themselves alongside the United States and are in favor of Israel deciding when to end [à guerra]”, accused Hakan Fidan. The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7th with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and which is classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States, bombing several of the group’s infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposing a siege on the territory with a cut supply of water, fuel and electricity. The conflict has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries, among military personnel and civilians, in both territories.
