Turkey, Lebanon leaders hold talks on bilateral ties, regional issues
During a telephone conversation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara’s ongoing support for Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty. He highlighted the scope for deeper cooperation, noting that the two countries “have significant potential in the fields of trade and investment.”
Erdogan also conveyed Türkiye’s willingness to take part in international frameworks aimed at reinforcing Lebanon’s security. In addition, he reiterated Ankara’s firm stance against “Israel’s aggressive posture toward Lebanon,” as stated in the briefing.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 after more than a year of cross-border hostilities linked to the war in Gaza. The conflict resulted in more than 4,000 deaths and left around 17,000 people injured. Under the terms of the truce, Israeli troops were expected to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon in January, but the pullout has only been partial, with forces still stationed at five border positions.
The Turkish president also emphasized that Türkiye expects Lebanon to take an approach that safeguards the rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots.
Cyprus has remained divided for decades between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, despite repeated efforts led by the United Nations to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Violence between the two groups in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for protection.
In 1974, a coup by Greek Cypriots seeking to unite the island with Greece prompted Türkiye to intervene militarily in its role as a guarantor power. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was later proclaimed in 1983. Diplomatic efforts have continued intermittently, including talks in Switzerland in 2017 involving guarantor states Türkiye, Greece, and the United Kingdom, though these negotiations ended without agreement.
The Greek Cypriot administration joined the European Union in 2004, the same year voters on the Greek Cypriot side rejected a UN-supported reunification plan in a referendum.
Turning to developments in Syria, Erdogan reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to supporting positive changes that could contribute to wider regional stability.
Despite posing no direct threat, Syrian territory has repeatedly been entered by Israeli forces, accompanied by airstrikes that have killed civilians and damaged military sites, vehicles, weapons, and ammunition. According to Syrian government figures, since December 2024 Israel has conducted more than 1,000 air attacks and carried out over 400 cross-border raids into southern areas.
Following the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in late 2024, Israel expanded its control of the Syrian Golan Heights by taking over the demilitarized buffer zone, a step that breached a 1974 agreement between the two countries.
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