US president's new Gaza cease-fire push is ‘overdue but important': Turkish President Erdogan

The US president's new push for a Gaza Strip cease-fire comes belatedly but is still important, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

“President (Joe) Biden's announcement of a new initiative for a cease-fire in Gaza is a step that is long overdue but nonetheless an important one,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a joint news conference in the capital Ankara alongside the visiting sultan of Oman.

Regional and global peace cannot be achieved unless an urgent, just, lasting cease-fire is established in Gaza, said President Erdogan, speaking the day after a cease-fire started between Lebanon and Israel after months of cross-border fighting.

Ankara aims to increase its trade volume with Oman initially to $5 billion, reflecting their current potential, Erdogan added, pointing to developing economic ties between Türkiye and the Gulf state.

“Starting in 2025, with the start of liquefied gas supplies from Oman, we will enter a new phase in our energy cooperation,” he added.