Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday that talks with Palestinian resistance group Hamas in recent days had shown the group would be more open to an agreement that goes beyond a ceasefire in Gaza and aims for a lasting solution to the crisis with Israel.
On April 19, Fidan and Türkiye’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalın, held talks with Hamas officials in Ankara to discuss the latest efforts for a ceasefire and the situation in Gaza.Speaking in Doha, Fidan said those talks showed Hamas would be more willing to sign a deal that also addresses the issue of occupied Palestinian territories and other issues, adding that the crisis could be turned into an opportunity to implement the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Turkish foreign minister meets Qatari emir, premier in Doha
Hakan Fidan met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, as well as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, during a visit to Qatar on Sunday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
The talks focused on strengthening bilateral ties and coordination on regional developments, the ministry said on X.
Following their meeting, Fidan and the Qatari prime minister also held a joint press conference, with no details released yet.
Fidan last visited Qatar in early February, while Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani traveled to Türkiye earlier this month to attend a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)-Gaza Contact Group, hosted by Fidan in the southern Turkish city of Antalya.
The High Strategic Committee, co-chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, last met in Ankara in November 2024. The next session is expected to take place in the Qatari capital Doha later this year.
Ankara and Doha have strengthened their relationship over the past decade through a strategic partnership formed in 2014, with over 100 agreements signed across various sectors and regular high-level meetings.
The Türkiye-Qatar bilateral trade volume exceeded $1 billion in 2024.