President of the Government travels to Turkey this Friday to discuss the situation in Gaza with Erdogan

Eduardo González The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will travel to Turkey this Friday to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip with the country's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just one week after explaining to the Arab League and the European Political Community the draft resolution on Gaza promoted by Spain and Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly. According to sources from Moncloa reported to The Diplomat on Monday, Sánchez will also discuss bilateral issues of mutual interest and current regional and international issues, including the situation in Gaza. Last Friday, during the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), the Prime Minister explained the content of the draft resolution, which demands that Israel end the humanitarian blockade imposed on Gaza and grant full and unrestricted access to humanitarian assistance. Erdogan himself was among those attending the meeting, held in Tirana, Albania. The following day, Sánchez spoke in Baghdad, Iraq, at the opening session of the 34th Summit of the League of Arab States, where he invited the 22 member states of that organization to work together to advance the draft resolution. Sánchez, who was the only Western leader invited to the event, also announced that Spain will submit a proposal to the United Nations General Assembly requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rule on Israel's compliance with its international obligations regarding humanitarian aid access to Gaza. This is Pedro Sánchez's second official trip to Turkey. The previous visit took place in November 2021 on the occasion of the 7th High-Level Meeting (HLM) between Spain and Turkey. Separately, Pedro Sánchez held bilateral meetings in Madrid and Vilnius on the sidelines of the NATO Summits in June 2022 and July 2023. The Turkish president returned to Madrid in June 2024 to co-chair the 8th NATO Summit with Sánchez, where they discussed, among other issues, the understanding between Madrid and Ankara on the Gaza conflict. At the joint press conference, the Prime Minister asserted that both countries share "the urgent and imperative need to achieve a ceasefire, the entry of humanitarian aid proportionate to the needs of the people of Gaza, and the release of the hostages." Likewise, the Prime Minister and the Turkish President held telephone conversations in November 2023 and May 2024. In the first, Erdogan praised the "valuable" stance of the Spanish government against Israel's "illegitimate attacks" in Gaza, and in the second, they discussed Spain's decision to recognize the State of Palestine and agreed on "the need to join forces with the international community to create the necessary context for the two-state solution," according to Moncloa.

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