Turkiye to host regional, European FMs to discuss ongoing conflicts

ISTANBUL, Oct 22: Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt for a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinians, developments in Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the source said.

Turkish Foreign Minister HakanFidan will host the meeting, the first to bring together the two groups.
"The seven countries will come together for the first time in the R4+E3 format, at Turkey's initiative," the source said, indicating they would explore "opportunities for cooperation and coordination that could be put into practice ... in the coming period."

In chairing the talks, Fidan was to stress that "regional security first and foremost requires countries of the region to assume responsibility" and within that context, Turkey "prioritises strengthening cooperation mechanisms based on regional ownership".

He would also say "existing disputes should not be allowed to feed one another, conflicts should not be allowed to spread to new areas, and regional tensions should not be allowed to turn into broader instability".�" AFP