Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday told his US counterpart, Donald Trump, that “urgent action” was needed to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran from spreading across the Middle East, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
The two leaders held their second phone call in 24 hours as regional tensions escalated following Israel’s missile strikes on Iranian military and nuclear targets and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks.
Erdoğan “hailed the recent comments by US President Trump concerning a resolution of the conflict” and emphasized the need for immediate steps to avoid what he called a looming regional catastrophe.
He warned that “the spiral of violence unleashed by Israel’s attacks on Iran have caused irreparable economic and civil damage to both sides” and urged efforts to stop what he described as a dangerous escalation.
Trump said earlier on Sunday he would be “open” to Russian President Vladimir Putin playing a mediating role between the two countries.
Erdoğan responded by expressing Turkey’s readiness to “play a role as facilitator” in de-escalating the crisis.
The call comes amid growing diplomatic efforts to prevent further military confrontation between Israel and Iran, whose missile exchanges have already left scores dead and hundreds wounded.
© Agence France-Presse