Türkiye's stance on Palestine will not change: Cavusoglu

Türkiye will continue to stand by Palestinian brothers and sisters in their struggle to establish an independent and sovereign Palestine, Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu has said.

Speaking alongside his Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, in Ramallah on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said he will visit Israel on Wednesday and discuss the issue of Palestine with his Israeli counterpart.

"We are also hoping to discuss our bilateral relations with Israel," he said. However, he added that Ankara will not lose its coordination with Palestine during the normalisation process between Türkiye and Israel.

"The Palestinian issue is independent of the normalisation process with Israel...our stance on Palestine will not change" Cavusoglu emphasised.

He said Türkiye hopes that the normalisation process will also contribute to the Palestinian cause and the "voice of the Palestinian brothers and sisters will be heard much more loudly."

Enhancing bilateral ties

Cavusoglu said that he and his Palestinian counterpart Maliki discussed a number of regional issues including the issues in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

He said efforts will be made to increase Palestinian exports to Türkiye and the relevant ministers of both states will meet at the end of June to discuss economic ties.

Earlier, Cavusoglu chaired the second meeting of the Joint Committee of the Palestinian and Turkish Foreign Ministries.

Cavusoglu said the agreements signed between Türkiye and Palestine today will further enhance the bilateral relations between the two nations. 

He invited Maliki to Türkiye for the third meeting of the committee.

In his speech, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki, said relations with Türkiye are distinguished, authentic, and strong. 

Türkiye supports the daily struggle of the Palestinian people to end the Israeli occupation, he said.

"We talked about the problems Al Aqsa Mosque is going through" and the sufferings of the Palestinians at such places and the Israeli attempts to change the historical position of Al Quds," Maliki said.

He said Palestine and Türkiye will have larger bilateral cooperation in future. 

Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in the Palestinian city of Ramallah ahead of his landmark visit to Israel.

The plane carrying Cavusoglu landed at the Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv where he was welcomed by Israeli officials.

This will be the first time in 15 years a Turkish foreign minister is paying an official visit to Israel as the two countries attempt to mend ties.

READ MORE: Turkiye: Normalisation of ties with Israel won't be at expense of Palestine