Netanyahu biggest obstacle to peace, says Erdogan at OIC meeting

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “biggest obstacle to regional peace,” accusing him of trying to sabotage nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States with ongoing attacks on Iran.

Speaking at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan told Arab League diplomats that Israel’s aggression showed it did not want diplomatic resolutions and warned against allowing the region to descend into wider conflict. He accused Western leaders of giving Israel “unconditional support” and said Turkiye would not allow the Middle East’s borders to be redrawn “in blood.”

“It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel’s banditry – not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,” Erdogan said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also addressed the OIC gathering, accusing Israel of dragging the Middle East toward “total disaster” by attacking Iran. He added, “There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem.”

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reported that Turkiye, as current OIC chair, considers itself well-positioned to help resolve the Israel-Iran conflict, given its ties with both Western and Muslim nations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said in a statement that Iran would only consider diplomacy if Israel stopped its attacks. “We support the continuation of discussion with [Britain, France, Germany and the EU] and express our readiness to meet again in the near future,” he added.

Credit: Aljazeera