The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had a telephone conversation lasting about an hour with his American counterpart, Joe Biden.

“During the conversation, Israel’s attacks on the Palestinian Territories, especially in Gaza, Turkey-US bilateral relations, the process of Sweden’s accession to NATO and global and regional issues were discussed,” reads a statement from the Turkish presidency’s Communications Directorate.

During the Erdoğan-Biden conversation, the issue of F16 fighter jets that Turkey is asking to buy from the US was also discussed.

President Erdogan said, according to the statement, “that the human tragedy in Gaza must stop as soon as possible, that the withdrawal of unconditional US support to Israel could quickly lead to a ceasefire, that both the world as well as American public opinion express this request more loudly in recent days and that it is the historic responsibility of the US to ensure a permanent ceasefire in the region as soon as possible.”

Turkish President Erdogan also reportedly said that the escalation and prolongation of Israeli attacks could have negative consequences at the regional and global level.

He reiterated Turkey’s proposal for the creation of a guarantee mechanism and stressed that “the fulfillment of the promises made and the establishment of an independent, sovereign, territorially unified Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital on the basis of the 1967 borders is the most logical and permanent solution ».