German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to Türkiye on Friday for talks focusing on the Gaza conflict and broader developments in the Middle East, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.
Speaking at a news conference in Berlin, spokesperson Josef Hinterseher said Wadephul will meet with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara to discuss international developments.
"The talks will focus on the situation in the Gaza Strip, among other topics," Hinterseher said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump's cease-fire plan. "Following the release of the hostages, the main priority now is to quickly improve the humanitarian situation and begin implementing the next phases of the 20-point plan," he added.
Hinterseher said this will be the German foreign minister's first official visit to Ankara, allowing the ministers to exchange views on various international topics. He added that the talks will also cover developments in the Middle East, the situation in neighboring Syria, the Russia-Ukraine war, and a range of bilateral issues between Germany and Türkiye.
Last week, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out on Sept. 29 to bring a cease-fire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.
Türkiye, Egypt, the U.S. and Qatar signed a declaration as the guarantors of the Gaza deal on Monday aimed at ending two years of Israel’s genocidal war that killed at least 67,000 people and leveled more than 90% of the Palestinian territory.
Phase 2 of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza, without Hamas' participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,900 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.
