Israeli PM Speaks With Leaders of Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Palestinian Authority Ahead of US President’s Arrival
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid continues his round of phone calls with regional leaders ahead of US President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia on July 13-16.
On Sunday, the Israeli PM spoke with both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
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Lapid and Erdoğan hailed a new Israel-Turkey civil aviation agreement signed last week and expressed hope for further improving relations between the two countries. The leaders agreed that “Israel-Turkey relations are of great importance for security, the economy, and stability in the Middle East,” Lapid’s office said in a statement.
Erdoğan congratulated Lapid on becoming Israel’s caretaker prime minister on July 1 and wished him success. Lapid thanked Erdoğan for Turkish cooperation in thwarting attempted attacks by Iran against Israelis in Istanbul in June, and “sent his best wishes … for a happy, peaceful, and prosperous [Eid al-Adha] holiday for the entire Turkish people,” the statement read.
In the call Sunday between Lapid and el-Sisi, the two leaders described the historic 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt as “the foundation for the two countries’ strategic relations and a central pillar of regional stability.” They expressed their “commitment to continuing to develop relations, especially in the economic sphere,” noted the “need for calm” for the Palestinian issue, and agreed to meet “soon.”
On Saturday, Lapid spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and on Friday, he talked with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – reportedly the first conversation between an Israeli prime minister and the Palestinian president in five years.
