ANKARA, November 28. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that US President Joe Biden’s recent initiative on a ceasefire in the Middle East is a belated but important step.

"Regional and global peace cannot be achieved unless an urgent, just, lasting ceasefire is established in Gaza," the Anadolu news agency quoted the Turkish president as saying during a press conference following talks with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said who is on a visit in Turkey.

"President Biden's announcement of a new initiative for a ceasefire in Gaza is a step that is long overdue but nonetheless an important one," the Turkish leader added.

On Tuesday, Biden asserted that the US and Israel together with Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as intermediaries, will make "another push" to achieve a truce in the Gaza Strip in the near future.

Erdogan reiterated that "since the very beginning of these conflicts, we have repeatedly expressed our readiness to do whatever is necessary, whether through mediation or as guarantors, to secure a lasting ceasefire." "Today, we stand firm in the same position. We will not hesitate to do whatever is required to establish calm and peace in Gaza," he added.

The agreement on the first ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon since the beginning of hostilities on October 7, 2023, entered into force at 5:00 a.m. Moscow time (3:00 a.m. GMT) on November 27. Biden announced that the agreements between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah organization provide for the restoration of control by Lebanese forces over its territory within 60 days. After that, the Israeli military will gradually withdraw from Lebanon, and civilians on both sides will soon be able to safely return to their settlements and begin rebuilding them.

The situation in the Middle East escalated dramatically when, on October 7, 2023, armed Hamas supporters from the Gaza Strip breached Israeli territory, killing residents of border settlements and seizing more than 240 hostages. In retaliation, Israel launched a military operation in the enclave to destroy the military and political structures of Hamas and liberate all the hostages. The hostilities in the Gaza Strip continue to this day.