Shoukry, Erdogan, and Fidan call for Israel-Iran tensions not to overshadow the mounting humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on both Iran and Israel to “exercise restraint” during a meeting of the three in Istanbul yesterday, according to a joint press conference following the meeting (watch, runtime: 35:57). “Our first priority should be ending Israel’s occupation in Palestine and a two-state solution” and “any development that could distract us from this fact must be ignored”, Fidan said.

Remember: Relations between Cairo and Istanbul have been warming after a decade of tense relations, with President Erdogan visiting Cairo for the first time since 2012 this February and President Adbel Fattah El Sisi expected to visit the country later this month. The two sides plan to boost the volume of trade between them to USD 15 bn over the next few years from USD 6.6 bn at the end of 2023.

The meeting also got the attention of the int’l press: Reuters

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