Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Israel’s “war-addicted” government must not be allowed to plunge the region into bloodshed again.
"We are closely following the Israeli administration's attempts to dynamite the (US-Iran) deal... The current war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again," Erdogan told a joint news conference in Istanbul with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after bilateral and delegation-level talks.
The Turkish president said Türkiye wants a climate in which all people in the region, regardless of their faith, can live in peace and security.
“No solution that does not draw strength from the will and contribution of regional countries can be permanent,” Erdogan said.
“We will continue working in solidarity with brotherly countries, particularly Pakistan, to strengthen peace, stability and prosperity in our region.”
Erdogan said he was pleased to host Sharif and his delegation in Istanbul and offered condolences over Friday's bus accident in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which killed 40 people.
The two leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues, Erdogan said.
“First of all, the whole world breathed a sigh of relief thanks to the calm ensured by the Islamabad Memorandum,” he said, referring to the interim deal between Iran and US mediated by Pakistan.
Erdogan congratulated Sharif and the Pakistani people for their major role in achieving that outcome.
“We have especially supported, and continue to support, every step that will contribute to reducing tensions in our region and resolving problems through diplomacy,” he said.
Türkiye is closely following Israeli efforts to sabotage the agreement, he said, adding that Tel Aviv continues to target Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli forces, he said, are also continuing their “unlawful and inhumane” attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.
Türkiye-Pakistan relations
On bilateral ties, Erdogan said Ankara and Islamabad continue to stand in solidarity in every field and discussed steps to further develop trade and investment relations.
“We reaffirmed our target of raising our trade volume to the previously set level of $5 billion,” he said.
Erdogan said the trade ministries of the two countries are working on a planned special economic zone for Turkish businesspeople in Karachi, while talks are continuing on expanding the scope of the preferential trade agreement.
He said a business forum attended by Sharif earlier in the day would also contribute to relations in investment and trade.
“We also encourage our investors to operate more in Pakistan,” Erdogan said, adding that defence industry cooperation, one of the key elements of economic ties, continues to advance with new projects.
Türkiye believes the projects being implemented step by step will further strengthen Pakistan, he said.
“We want to deepen our cooperation with Pakistan in energy, transportation, critical minerals and information technologies. Today, we once again confirmed our determination with the prime minister,” Erdogan added.
