Erdoğan, Starmer discuss ties, Palestine recognition in phone call
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a phone conversation on Friday to review bilateral relations alongside regional and global matters.
Erdoğan highlighted the productive outcomes of this year's United Nations General Assembly in pushing forward a two-state solution for Palestine.
He congratulated Starmer on the U.K.'s formal recognition of Palestine, describing the move by U.N. Security Council members—including the U.K. and France—as a "historic development."
The president emphasized the need to sustain the growing international support for Palestine and called for actions extending beyond diplomatic efforts to halt the policies of the Netanyahu administration.
On Monday, Erdoğan participated in a high-level conference on Palestine, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, to revive the two-state solution.
"Today, the Palestinian cause has become a global issue. The participation in this hall is the most important proof of this," he told attendees, noting widespread public support worldwide.
In his Tuesday General Assembly speech, Erdoğan sharply criticized Israel's actions in Gaza, displaying photos of the devastation.
"It is not only people who are being killed in Gaza, but also animals are being targeted, agricultural fields and centuries-old olive trees are being destroyed," he said. "This is not a fight against terrorism. This is an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide."
Later, Erdoğan joined U.S. President Donald Trump and regional leaders for a Gaza multilateral meeting, yielding a deal on paths to ceasefire and lasting peace, with emphasis on a two-state framework.
