It is important all stages of Gaza ceasefire to be fully implemented: Turkish president
International community must ensure that Israel fulfills its responsibilities, says Recep Tayyip Erdogan

ISTANBUL
All stages of the Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas should be fully implemented and humanitarian aid to the enclave must flow uninterrupted, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
On the three-phase truce, whose first phase started on Sunday, Erdogan told a news conference in the capital Ankara with visiting Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico that the international community must ensure that Israel fulfills its responsibilities.
On Sunday, Hamas released three Israeli hostages, while Israel set 90 Palestinian prisoners free.
Türkiye is committed to the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, Erdogan added.
He also stressed the importance of lifting international restrictions on Syria to start its reconstruction.
Erdogan underscored that they discussed the possibility for Slovakia to contribute to reconstruction efforts both bilaterally and in the EU.
For his part, Fico expressed hope that Türkiye's full EU membership aspirations are realized as soon as possible, affirming his country's full support.
'It’s very important for us' to maintain same friendship we had in Trump's 1st term
On Donald Trump, whose presidential term began hours later, Erdogan said it is "very important for us to maintain the same friendship we had" in Trump's first term.
Highlighting Trump's assertion that he will quickly end the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdogan said Türkiye will do whatever it needs to do for this, “as we are not in favor of wars in the world.
"Türkiye is in favor of peace. With this peace, we believe that the solidarity between countries in the world should continue. Peace has everything in this regard, war will get us nowhere.”
Emphasizing that this issue must be resolved as soon as possible, Erdogan said he will discuss these issues in meetings with Trump and take steps accordingly.
Türkiye-Slovakia bilateral ties
Erdogan said that during the meetings, they discussed ways to further deepen relations between Türkiye and Slovakia.
He noted that they elevated relations to the level of strategic partnership with a joint declaration.
Stating that documents for cooperation between ministries and institutions in fields such as the military, defense industry, and culture were also signed, Erdogan said they would strengthen relations and carry the existing cooperation further.
Stressing that recent years have seen significant progress in investment and trade ties with Slovakia and that the trade volume, which hovered around $1 billion in 2019, reached $3 billion in the last four or five years, Erdogan said: “This trend shows us that we will hopefully reach and exceed our common target of $5 billion soon.
"The work of our joint committee on economy and trade, which will host its first meeting this year, will help achieve this goal.”
On the shared trade goal of $5 billion, Fico said: “When we look at our dynamics, I have no doubt that this is an achievable goal.”
Emphasizing that Türkiye has made great progress in the defense industry in the last 20 years, Erdogan said strengthening defense industry cooperation between Ankara and Bratislava, as two friendly NATO allies, with concrete projects was among the topics of their meeting.
'I believe Slovakia will continue to increase its support for our EU membership goal'
Stating that he and Fico also discussed relations between Türkiye and the EU as well as regional and global issues, Erdogan said: “I sincerely believe Slovakia will continue to support us in reaching our goal of full European Union membership.”
Türkiye has Slovakia's "full" support on its EU membership process, said Fico.
Noting that they also discussed the war in Ukraine, Erdogan said Slovakia has contacts with both Russia and Ukraine, adding: “We agreed that a just and lasting peace should be established before the effects of the war in a neighboring region deepen.”
Erdogan said he believes relations between Slovakia and Türkiye and their solidarity within NATO will continue to strengthen on the basis of their strategic partnership.
On natural gas, since Ukraine halted the flow of Russian gas to Europe via its territory, Erdogan said he and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will talk to their Russian counterparts about Slovakia’s natural gas needs.
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