ANKARA, Dec 13: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday he saw "encouraging signs" of progress toward a ceasefire in Gaza, urging Turkey to use its influence to encourage Hamas to accept.
His remarks came after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the second leg of his Syria crisis tour following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government.
"We discussed Gaza, and we discussed I think the opportunity... to get a ceasefire in place. And what we've seen in the last couple of weeks are more encouraging signs that that is possible," Blinken told reporters in Ankara.
"We talked about the imperative of Hamas saying 'yes' to the agreement that's possible, to finally help bring this to an end," he said.
"And we appreciate very much the role that Turkey can play in using its voice with Hamas to try to bring this to conclusion," he added.
Blinken also discussed efforts toward a Gaza ceasefire when he arrived in Jordan on Thursday on what was his 12th visit to the Middle East since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan discussed on Friday the need for continued efforts to counter any resurgence of Islamic State in Syria following the fall of Bashar-al Assad.
"Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS, to ensure that threat doesn't rear its head again, and it's imperative that we keep at those efforts," Blinken said alongside Fidan after they met in Ankara. Talks also focused on a critical aspect of establishing stability in Syria - clashes in the north of the country between US-backed Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed rebels. —AFP, REUTERS
