FM Fidan meets US Secretary of State Blinken in Prague
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet in Prague, Czechia, May 30, 2024. (AA Photo)


Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken on the sidelines of the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague, Czechia on Thursday.

The two top diplomats are attending the two-day meeting, which aims to focus on several issues, including a support package for Ukraine at the bloc's upcoming summit in Washington in July.

In his meeting with Blinken, Fidan discussed Gaza cease-fire negotiations and a two-state solution, the latest situation in Ukraine, the conflicts in some West African countries, diplomatic sources said.

Fidan also explained Türkiye's views regarding the latest developments in Syria, sources added.

The two foreign ministers also discussed issues related to NATO ahead of the bloc's summit.

Fidan recently accused the U.S. of enabling genocide in Gaza, as Israel continues to carry out massacres in Rafah, killing and injuring dozens of civilians seeking refuge in tent camps in safe zones.

World nations have been calling on Israel to halt its operation in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, where airstrikes at a tent camp near a U.N. logistics base killed 45 people alone on Sunday, adding to the devastating death toll of more than 36,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7.

Israel has steadily ignored warnings from the U.S., its biggest military supplier, and other close allies against a full-fledged offensive in the city, with the Biden administration saying it would cross a red line. Last Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) told Israel to immediately halt its offensive on Rafah, an order it has no power to enforce.

Washington has so far refused to take any concrete action to stop Tel Aviv and Biden himself defended Israel’s ongoing onslaught, saying what is happening in the enclave was "not genocide." The U.S. has also vetoed a widely-backed U.N. General Assembly resolution that would have paved the way for full U.N. membership for Palestine and several other resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.