Outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on the margins of the G-20 summit in Brazil on Tuesday. Their discussions focused on efforts to end Israel's war on Gaza and Lebanon, according to the State Department.
Blinken and Fidan talked about the need for a diplomatic resolution to Israel's war in Lebanon that fully implements U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 to enable residents on both sides of the border to return home, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. They also discussed "ongoing humanitarian efforts in Gaza and the need to bring the war to an end and secure the release of all hostages,” he said.
He added that the importance of a "dignified and durable peace in the South Caucasus" was also discussed in the meeting.
Regional tension has escalated due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 44,000 people, mostly women and children. Israel has launched a massive air campaign and a ground invasion in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, displacing over 1 million people from their homes. The U.S. special envoy for the Middle East, Amos Hochstein, recently headed to Lebanon for cease-fire talks regarding the deadly cross-border conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
