Abbas, Erdogan discuss Gaza ceasefire

Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas met with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday in Ankara for talks on a ceasefire and peace, a day after a visit to Moscow.

The closed-door talks come at a tense time during the 10-month Israel-Hamas war, with faltering efforts for a ceasefire and Israel braced for threatened attacks from Iran and its proxies following killings of senior Hamas officials in Iran and Lebanon. Abbas and Erdogan discussed "the massacres committed by Israel in Palestinian territories" as well as "steps that need to be taken for a permanent ceasefire and peace" during their meeting at the presidential palace, according to Erdogan's office.

Erdogan has been a fierce critic of Israel's conduct in the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attacks, dubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "the butcher of Gaza".

While Hamas is viewed by the United States, the European Union and Israel as a terrorist organisation, Erdogan has described it as "a liberation movement".

He has also criticised the Western world for failure to pressure Israel to stop the war. In talks with Abbas, Erdogan again lashed out at some Western states' silence in the face of soaring death toll in Gaza and said that was "unacceptable", his office said.

He also said that all countries, especially the Islamic world, should increase their efforts for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to ensure uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

In July, Erdogan chastised Abbas for not responding to his invitation to visit Turkey. Abbas added a trip to Ankara after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

He will address the Turkish parliament in a special session dedicated to the Palestinian issue on Thursday. Abbas, who heads the Fatah Palestinian movement, a rival to Hamas, had already visited Turkey at Erdogan's invitation in early March.