President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed Turkey-Israel relations in a meeting with Jewish-American leaders in New York on Thursday, as part of his visit to the U.S. to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly.
Erdoğan highlighted that the normalization of relations between Turkey and Israel is important to find solutions to economic and humanitarian problems experienced by Palestinians and told them about Turkey's ongoing humanitarian aid efforts for Gaza.
The president noted that a two-state solution and a state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital was necessary to resolve the conflict in the country.
He also said that Israel must respect the holy status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims and stop violations against its status.
A number of prominent Jewish leaders including Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein, American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Robert Cohen, CEO and National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Jonathan Greenblatt and many other prominent Jewish figures attended the meeting.
Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to the United States Serdar Kılıç, and Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Feridun Sinirlioğlu were also present during the meeting.
Erdoğan is also scheduled to meet with Turkish non-governmental organizations and Muslim community leaders in the U.S. before his departure.
