LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call on Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, where the two sides discussed a number of issues, the State Department said.
During the call, the two sides underscored the importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace discussions, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Blinken thanked Turkiye for its leadership in the Black Sea Grain Initiative and noted the urgent need to address the Kremlin’s inhumane use of food as a weapon of war, Miller added.
The UN-sponsored “Initiative on the Safe Transportation of Grain and Foodstuffs from Ukrainian Ports” was signed in July 2022 in Istanbul to resume Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The secretary also thanked Turkiye for its commitment to send Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to the Turkish parliament for ratification,” he also said.
Earlier on Saturday, a source at the Turkish foreign ministry also confirmed that the two top diplomats discussed a normalization process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the security of the Black Sea and NATO enlargement during the call.
Blinken, Turkish foreign minister discuss Black Sea grain initiative
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Blinken, Turkish foreign minister discuss Black Sea grain initiative
Israeli fire kills three in Gaza, as US seeks to advance Gaza deal
- Talks were held on Saturday
CAIRO: Israeli fire killed three Palestinians in two separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while an Israeli drone wounded four others in Gaza City, local health authorities said on Sunday.
Medics said Israeli fire killed at least two people east of Tuffah neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip, while a 41-year-old man was killed by Israeli forces in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
Earlier medical workers said an Israeli drone exploded on the rooftop of a multi-floor building in Gaza City, wounding four civilians in the street nearby.
There was no comment by the Israeli military on any of the incidents.
US ENVOYS MEET WITH ISRAEL PM NETANYAHU
US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met in Israel on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mainly to discuss Gaza, Witkoff said on Sunday.
“The discussion was constructive and positive, with both sides aligned on next steps and the importance of continued cooperation on all matters critical to the region,” Witkoff said in a post on X.
Gaza has been reduced to rubble in the war that was triggered by an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023 in which 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
The Gaza health ministry says more than 71,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli fire since then. It also says that at least 480 people have been killed by Israeli fire since a ceasefire agreement came into effect last October.
BOTH SIDES TRADE BLAME FOR VIOLATIONS
Israel has said four soldiers had been killed by militants in Gaza since the ceasefire began. Both sides have traded blame for violations of the truce.
Earlier this month, Washington said the plan had moved into a second phase, in which Israel is expected to withdraw troops further from Gaza, and Hamas is due to yield control of the territory’s administration.
Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, more than 100 people attended the funeral of a person killed by Israeli drone fire on Saturday, after holding special prayers in front of his white-shrouded body at the morgue in Nasser Hospital.
“They are liars, there is no ceasefire,” said Fares Erheimat, a relative of the dead man, during the funeral.
