Türkiye hails Brazil's stance on Gaza — Turkish FM Fidan

Türkiye applauds Brazil's stance on the ongoing crisis in Palestine's Gaza, the country's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said in a joint news conference with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in the capital Ankara.

Fidan highlighted on Wednesday that the two countries had overlapping approaches concerning global developments in many areas and said they share largely the same sensitivities with Brazil on the issue of Gaza and Israel's ongoing attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

He expressed Ankara's appreciation for Brazil's solidarity with Palestine, adding that Brasilia was "actively working for the official recognition of Palestine as a full UN member."

"Countries that unconditionally support Israel continue to turn a blind eye to this massacre. Not only that, but they also keep providing Israel with arms and ammunition incessantly. The situation is crystal clear," the Turkish foreign minister said.

'Fundamentalist government' of Netanyahu

He said that the "fundamentalist government" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued its "systematic massacre," of Palestinians, adding: "Türkiye will not stand idly by the ongoing massacre in Gaza."

"From our Arab brothers within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to our friends within BRICS, everyone is concerned about the tragedy in Gaza. Those who ignore the massacre are morally responsible," he said.

Underlining the importance of a two-state solution, Fidan said the "only way for bloodshed in Gaza to stop is through a two-state solution."

"Türkiye welcomes Brazil's support to South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice," he concluded.

Over 36,000 killed

Israel has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 which claimed 1,200 lives and around 250 were taken as hostages.

As many as 105 captives were released as part of a brief truce in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Around 125 people remain held captive, with many of them believed to be dead due to Israeli air strikes.

Israel stands accused of "genocide" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its invasion in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.

Türkiye-Brazil ties

During the meeting, both leaders also focused on bilatarel relations as the Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said he and Vieira agreed to enhance political , economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

"Brazil is our largest trading partner in Latin America. Our trade volume reached $5 billion as of last year. We aim to further increase this in a balanced manner. We also discussed how we can increase mutual investments with my esteemed friend," he said.

On cooperation in the tourism sector, Fidan said they agreed to collaborate, noting that around 103,000 Brazilian tourists visited Türkiye last year and that they aimed to increase this number further.