Erdogan calls for diplomatic efforts to end war between US and Iran

O Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today called for diplomatic efforts to end the war between the United States and Iran to be resumed after a meeting with the Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian.

The two leaders met on the margins of the United Nations climate conference in the Turkish province of Antalya, the Turkish Presidency, quoted by the French agency AFP, announced.

Erdogan stressed “the importance of returning to the negotiating table without further delay” and assured Pezeshkian that Turkey would continue to support efforts to restore peace.

“ A ground of understanding must be strengthened and diplomacy given an opportunity,” he said, hoping that the conflict “will end as soon as possible.”.

The war in the Middle East was unleashed on 28 February by attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran.

The first phase of the conflict, the most intense, caused thousands of deaths in nearly 40 days of U.S. bombing and Iranian attacks on the United States allies in the region.

A ceasefire and a protocol of agreement followed in June.

This understanding collapsed shortly after, with the resumption of the exchanges of attacks, but there has been calm since the beginning of September.

The conflict crystallises in the narrow strategic of Ormuz, which Iran has been blocking for several months, while the United States imposes a blockade on Iranian ports.

The diplomatic efforts of several mediating countries have failed to reach an agreement for a lasting end to the conflict, which has shaken the world economy by the restrictions of navigation through the Ormuz Strait.

Before the war, a fifth of the oil products passed through Ormuz to international markets.