ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan is set to discuss Turkey’s efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during talks this week in Ankara, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday.
Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Turkey at the weekend, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Minister Riyad-al Maliki said Abbas would pay a visit to Ankara on Tuesday and meet Erdogan.
Turkey, which has harshly criticised Israel for its attacks on Gaza and backed measures to have it tried for genocide at the World Court, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire. But Ankara has no direct involvement in truce talks.
Unlike its Western allies and some Gulf nations, NATO member Turkey does not view Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which runs Gaza and on Oct. 7 carried out an attack inside Israel that prompted the Israeli campaign, as a terrorist organisation.
Erdogan and Abbas will discuss recent developments in Gaza as well as the situation in the West Bank, the diplomatic source said.
“Turkey has been delivering extensive humanitarian aid to Gaza in coordination with Egypt since the beginning of Israel’s attacks… Within this scope, humanitarian aid operations will also be discussed during the meetings with President Abbas,” the source said.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Daren Butler and Toby Chopra)
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