U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Türkiye on Saturday to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday.

Türkiye has been pressing the U.S. for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.

The two foreign ministers met in November and have been holding phone calls to discuss regional tensions.

Türkiye supports a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict and has harshly criticized Israel, calling for a full cease-fire and for Israeli leaders to be tried in international courts for war crimes. Ankara also continues to strongly criticize Western support for Tel Aviv.

Washington, Israel's closest ally, has repeatedly said it supports Israel's right to defend itself but has stepped up calls on Israel to act with restraint in its campaign, which has killed nearly 19,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, and laid much of the Gaza Strip to waste.