Türkiye says lasting Iran-Israel peace ‘strategic goal’

Hosting his British counterpart David Lammy on Monday, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said their current priority was a lasting cease-fire between Iran and Israel, and a subsequent permanent peace was their ‘strategic goal’ in the long run

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy was in Ankara on Monday for his first bilateral visit to Türkiye. Lammy and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, held a brief joint news conference after their meeting that focused on bilateral ties as well as regional and global issues. The conflict between Iran and Israel that shook the region for days before ending with a frail truce, dominated the agenda of the joint presser. Fidan stated that one of Türkiye’s biggest strategic goals at the moment was ensuring the cease-fire between Iran and Israel is not violated and its evolution to a lasting peace.

Türkiye, which confronts Israel at every opportunity over the latter’s genocidal policies in Palestinian territories and expansionist ambitions that spread from Lebanon to Iran, has defended Iran’s right to self-defense after Israel launched attacks on Türkiye’s eastern neighbor earlier in June. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly called on the international community to pursue diplomacy over their nuclear dispute with Iran, a pretext for Israel’s all-out attacks that targeted Tehran and other cities.

Fidan said views of Türkiye and the United Kingdom on foreign policy aligned on several issues, from the situation in Gaza to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and on Iran. “We both support a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. Our strategic goal is achieving a lasting peace between Israel and Iran. We also attach importance to ensuring a swift end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, signing of a cease-fire deal and addressing the issue in the long run through a two-state solution,” Fidan said.

Türkiye’s top diplomat also hailed the U.K.’s lifting of sanctions toward Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. “Syria is an important field of cooperation for us. Stability and security in Syria will serve us regionally and globally. We will work with the U.K. on this matter,” he said.

Fidan said the U.K. and Türkiye were two non-EU NATO members with strong bonds, citing cooperation in many fields from economy to defense, and a foreign trade volume nearing $30 billion.

For his part, David Lammy said they had close contact with Türkiye, noting his talks with Fidan every month since he took office. Lammy, who was later received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, noted strong strategic partnership served as the basis of bilateral relations and they were working to improve them. He noted that their Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would strengthen it, referring to upcoming talks to upgrade the deal.

Lammy said they appreciated Türkiye’s diplomatic efforts, especially to maintain peace between Russia and Ukraine.

He noted that they also discussed Gaza, adding that they were working to relieve the humanitarian crisis and for a two-state solution to the conflict.

Eurofighter issue

Minister Fidan also praised good cooperation with Britain on the defense industry, and their relevant institutions and companies were working together in many fields, including the acquisition of Eurofighters.

The Eurofighter Typhoon jets are built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by companies Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

Türkiye has been in negotiations to acquire up to 40 Eurofighters to enhance its air force. Germany initially opposed the deal before taking a step toward clearing it a few months ago.

Türkiye, despite boasting NATO’s second-largest army, has often in the past faced arms embargoes. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.