UK premier thanks President Erdoğan for Türkiye's role in Ukraine peace talks

During a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in The Hague, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his support to the Coalition of the Willing planning and for Türkiye's role in the Ukraine peace talks.

During the meeting, Erdoğan and Starmer discussed the "perilous situation" in the Middle East and welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, said a statement from the UK prime minister's office.

The two agreed that "negotiations must lead to the next vital step forward," it added.

On Gaza, Erdoğan and Starmer agreed that there needed to be an urgent acceleration of aid and an end to the intolerable situation.

Turning to the situation in Ukraine, Starmer thanked Erdoğan "for his support to the Coalition of the Willing planning and thanked him for Türkiye's role in peace talks," the statement added.

The Turkish president and the UK prime minister also welcomed the "strengthening military cooperation between the two countries, and agreed on the importance of making progress in free trade agreement talks."