ANKARA, May 12. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Jerusalem and the general environment in the zone of the Arab-Israeli conflict in a phone conversation on Wednesday, the NTV channel reported, citing the administration of the Turkish leader.
The Turkish president pointed out that a "similar stance by Turkey and Russia on the issue [of the status] of Jerusalem is an important message" in the context of resolving this issue. He noted the importance of statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry regarding settling the Jerusalem problem based on UN decisions and the two-state solution.
Erdogan pointed out the necessity of immediately engaging the UN Security Council in the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. In his opinion, the UN "should demonstrate hardline and decisive position in order for Israel to stop attacking" the Gaza Strip.
He separately noted that "it is necessary to hammer out the issue of sending international peacekeepers to the region in order to protect the Palestinians" and expressed confidence that "Turkey and Russia will display close cooperation on these issues at the UN."
On May 10, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu held a phone conversation. According to the statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry, "the ministers condemned the eviction of the Palestinians from their ancestral neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and, in the spirit of the May 8, 2021 joint statement of special envoys of the Middle East Quartet of International Mediators, called on all the parties to the conflict to show restraint and avoid actions that threaten to further exacerbate the situation during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan."
An exchange of missile strikes between Israel and Palestinian radicals from the Gaza Strip followed an outbreak of violence near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City in early May. To date, more than 1,000 missiles have been launched from Gaza towards Israel. The majority of them were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system yet some missiles hit Israeli streets. Several Israelis were killed, dozens were wounded. Palestine, in turn, reports at least 43 fatalities, including 13 children, and 296 wounded as a result of Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.