Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul on Friday with counterparts from Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt. The meeting was initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.
Foreign ministers from the E3 group — Britain, France and Germany — will meet the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinians, developments in Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will host the first gathering of the two groups. The source said the seven countries will come together for the first time in the R4+E3 format at Turkiye’s initiative and will explore opportunities for cooperation and coordination that could be put into practice in the coming period.
In chairing the talks, Fidan was to stress that regional security requires countries of the region to assume responsibility, and that Turkiye prioritises cooperation based on regional ownership. He would also say existing disputes should not be allowed to feed one another, conflicts should not spread to new areas, and regional tensions should not turn into broader instability.
He would press for greater international pressure on Israel over settlement expansion and what the source called encouragement of settler terrorism. He would underline Turkiye’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security against Houthi attacks and the need for permanent freedom of navigation in the Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb straits.
Unrest in the Black Sea is also a key focus. Fidan was to point to Turkiye’s warnings and proposals aimed at keeping the Russia-Ukraine war from spreading there and at ending civilian deaths.
Armed attacks on commercial ships, often with drones, have multiplied in recent months as the war has spilled into the Black Sea, and Turkish ships have increasingly come under fire. Last month Turkiye sent Russia and Ukraine a proposal to end the strikes, but attacks have increased in recent weeks, notably near Romania and Bulgaria.
NATO said on Tuesday it was deploying additional planes, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea and called for more situational awareness through extra sensors and more data-sharing.
The E3 was set up more than 20 years ago to coordinate diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear programme. The R4 was formed this year and brings together Egypt with the signatories of the Mecca Defence Agreement, a mutual defence pact set up by Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in August.