Turkey hosts a high-stakes forum on Friday, bringing together the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, as Islamabad pushes diplomatic efforts to end the Middle East war.
Pakistan’s powerful army chief met with senior negotiators in Tehran on Thursday as Washington and Iran considered a fresh round of talks to end the six-week war.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will address the three-day Antalya Diplomacy Forum when it opens on Friday in the Mediterranean holiday resort of Antalya.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to meet on the sidelines of the forum, with the war and the blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz expected to dominate. The timing of the meeting has not yet been announced.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a key mediator in regional diplomacy having hosted rare talks between Iran and the United States last weekend, which ended inconclusively.
“We are making the necessary efforts to reduce tensions, extend the ceasefire and continue the negotiations,” Erdoğan said in an address to his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament this week.
“Negotiations cannot take place with clenched fists. Weapons must not be allowed to speak again instead of words. The window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire must be fully utilized.”
The White House has said further talks with Iran would “very likely” be in Islamabad, where Vice President JD Vance led the US delegation in the last round of negotiations.
Push for peace
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who met with Qatar’s ruler in Doha on Thursday as part of a regional tour, will also join the forum and speak with Erdoğan on its sideline, as Islamabad pushes for a US-Iran second round.
“We will continue to provide all the support we can to ensure that the ongoing temporary ceasefire turns into a permanent one,” a Turkish defense ministry source said on Thursday.
“We hope that this war, whose effects are being felt increasingly not only regionally but also globally, will come to an end as soon as possible, and that the parties will act constructively in the ongoing negotiation process,” the source said.
Turkey, while a vocal critic of Israel, has joined diplomatic efforts with Egypt and Pakistan to help reach a ceasefire in the conflict.
Ankara has said the Middle East ceasefire should include Lebanon, which is facing Israeli attacks.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz should be reopened “as soon as possible” while warning that its status would remain a key point of contention.
He described the waterway as an “international free passage zone,” adding that any disruption to freedom of navigation is not something parties want to see.”
Some 150 countries are expected to take part in the Antalya gathering, including more than 20 heads of state and government.
Among the participants are Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
© Agence France-Presse