Erdogan says Trump asked Turkey to convince Hamas to back Gaza plan
ANKARA (Reuters) – President Tayyip Erdogan said U.S. President Donald Trump asked Türkiye to help persuade Hamas to support his plan to end the Gaza war and explained to the group what should be done.
Earlier Wednesday, Hamas said it had exchanged a list of names of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees to be released under the swap deal and was optimistic about talks in Egypt about Trump’s plan.
Türkiye, which supported the plan and participated in the negotiations in Egypt, was one of the loudest critics of the attack, which Israel described as genocide. He halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against his government, and demanded a two-state solution.
Speaking to reporters during his return flight from Azerbaijan, Erdogan said Turkish officials were involved in negotiations in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh on Wednesday and added that Trump wanted Türkiye to persuade Hamas to accept the offer.
According to the comment report shared by his office, Erdoğan said, “We were in contact with Hamas throughout this process. We are in contact with them now as well.” he said.
“We explain to them what is the most appropriate way for Palestine to walk determinedly into the future and what needs to be done.”
Referring to his visit to the White House last month, he said, “Both during our visit to America and in our last phone call, we explained to Mr. Trump how a solution in Palestine could be achieved.”
“He specifically asked us to talk to Hamas and persuade them. We quickly contacted our counterparts on this issue,” he added.
Türkiye’s intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, who participated in the last round of negotiations in Doha, is also participating in the negotiations in Egypt.
When asked about the possible Turkish military deployment to Gaza in the post-war scenario and ways to ensure security in the region, Erdogan said that the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh were critical to discuss the issue in detail, but the priority was to reach a full ceasefire, secure aid distribution and rebuild Gaza.
Ankara was ready to contribute to all efforts in post-war Gaza, he said, adding Gaza must be part of a Palestinian state and be governed by Palestinians.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gümrükçü and Daren Butler; Editing by Alison Williams, William Maclean)
