Diplomatic marathon Blinken: Arrived in Ankara – Unknown if he will see Erdogan

The foreign minister of USA, Anthony Blinken continues his diplomatic marathon trip to the Middle East and from Sunday night (5/11) located in Ankara.

The head of American diplomacy was welcomed at Esenboga airport in Ankara by the US ambassador to Turkey Jeffrey Flake, the director general of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for bilateral political affairs with the US Ambassador Yaprak Balkan and other officials.

The American Foreign Minister, who made an emergency visit before his trip to Turkey, West Bank, her Cyprus but also the Iraqwill hold talks on Monday (6/11), about the war in Israel, with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

Erdogan’s “fires” against Israel put obstacles in the talks

Of course, it remains unknown at the same time whether he will meet with the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attacks Israel at every opportunity – a strong ally of the USA – and speaks of “slaughter and bloodshed” in the Gaza Strip.

In particular, Erdogan continues to argue that does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization and that “Netanyahu is no longer an interlocutor for Turkey».

The Turkish president said characteristically: “We deleted him.” He also recalled the Turkish ambassador from Tel Aviv.

The State Department, although he had not officially mentioned such a possibility, he would like a meeting with the Turkish president, however at this stage it is unknown if it will take place. It seems that this possibility is gradually disappearing.

Erdogan in fact he announced on Sunday (5/11), from his hometown of Rizudathat on Monday he will visit a neighboring border region to inspect development projects.

“Humanitarian pause could bring hostages back”

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said U.S. officials were working to secure a humanitarian pause in Gaza that could advance several priorities, including providing more aid and freeing Hamas hostages.

Speaking to reporters after the station he made in Baghdadwhich had not been announced, Blinken said 100 trucks of humanitarian aid were now entering the besieged coastal enclave, but noted that the aid “is completely inadequate”.

Blinken’s surprise visit to Iraq

During his meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Blinken clearly told him that attacks or threats emanating from militias aligned with Iran are completely unacceptable as he stated during a press conference organized before he left by air for Turkey.

“We will take all necessary measures to protect our people“, he emphasized.

Blinken stated that the United States is working hard to ensure that the conflict in Gaza does not spread. He also stated that he had a good, honest conversation with the Iraqi government.

Washington accuses Iran of being involved by proxy in those attacks that also targeted US troops in neighboring Syria.

Responsibility for most of the attacks was claimed by the organization “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” with its messages on Telegram channels linked to Iraqi factions close to Iran.

According to Pentagon data released Friday, between October 17 and November 3, approximately 17 attacks were carried out in Iraq and 12 in Syria. Nearly 2,500 US troops are deployed in Iraq. Their mission is to advise their Iraqi counterparts in the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.

Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani has already condemned these attacks and assured that investigations are underway to identify the perpetrators.

Today, when he welcomed Blinken, he once again called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gazanoting “the urgent need to limit the crisis and prevent its spread“, according to a statement from his office.

Iraq does not recognize the state of Israel and the Iraqi government is close to Iran, a country that supports the Palestinian Hamas.