Turkish foreign minister to meet US Secretary of State Blinken for talks

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to have talks bilateral relations and regional issues.

Fidan and the members of the Muslim group – formed to follow up the decisions taken at the extraordinary joint summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation - Arab League on Nov. 11 – are in the capital Washington, DC to hold meetings as part of a joint diplomatic effort focused on Gaza.

The delegation will meet Blinken, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said.

Fidan is also expected to meet with the representatives of think tanks, Keceli added.

The contact group will hold meetings in Canada on Saturday and two separate meetings are planned with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, he said.

Over the past three weeks, the group has held meetings in Beijing, Moscow, London, Paris, Barcelona and New York, respectively. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also took part in the meetings.

In its talks so far, the delegation gave the message of starting a solution process -- that will be carried out through UN parameters -- for a permanent and fair peace after the cease-fire in Gaza.

Israel resumed its military offensive against the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 17,487 Palestinians have been killed and more than 46,480 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, according to official figures.