Israel must not be allowed to sabotage US-Iran ceasefire: Turkey’s Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned against the Israeli regime’s attempts to sabotage a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, saying that Ankara will push for an extension of the truce and ensure peace talks continue in Pakistan.

Addressing a parliament session on Wednesday, Erdogan said that the Israeli prime minister’s cabinet, “which is known to be unhappy with the ceasefire process, must not be allowed to sabotage it.”

The Turkish leader said that his government is making the “necessary appeals and initiatives” to ease tensions and extend the ceasefire, which is set to expire on April 20.

The two-week ceasefire, announced last week, 40 days after the US and the Israeli regime launched their war of aggression against Iran, provided a fragile window for diplomacy. It will expire on April 22.

Over the weekend, high-level peace talks between US and Iranian officials took place in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. While the talks ended without an agreement, regional governments are urging both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Erdogan also urged the two sides to utilize “the window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire” before its expiration.

“If there is to be peace in our region, it will be despite the Zionist regime,” Erdogan said. “If stability is achieved, it will again be despite the Israeli government.”

The Turkish president also condemned the aggression against Lebanon, warning that continued airstrikes are harming hopes for peace.

He said that Turkey will continue “to be the follower of the cause of children killed in their sleep in Lebanon,” referring to Israel’s airstrikes that have killed more than 2,000 people—including many women and children—since early March, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Despite the fact that the ceasefire between the US and Iran explicitly covered Lebanon, the Israeli regime continues its military aggression against the country, blatantly ignoring the terms of the truce.

This ongoing aggression is seen by regional observers as a deliberate attempt by Tel Aviv to sabotage the peace talks.