Türkiye, among the world's sharpest critics of the Israeli military operation in Gaza, will use the UN General Assembly this week to highlight what it says is a genocide unfolding there and will urge international pressure on Israel.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several Turkish ministers will take part in the General Assembly in New York, which comes amid the heaviest cross-border fire between Israel and armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, alongside the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
NATO member Türkiye has condemned Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which came in retaliation for Palestinian armed group Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year. Türkiye halted all trade with Israel and applied to join a genocide case against Israel at the World Court.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the genocide case as baseless, arguing in the court that its operations in Gaza are self-defense and target Gaza's ruling Hamas group.
Erdogan addresses the assembly on Tuesday and plans to underscore what he described as the "ongoing genocide in Gaza" and repeat his call to reform the UN structure to be more inclusive, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
The Turkish delegation, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, will press the Gaza issue in all of its meetings and bilateral contacts throughout the week, the source added.
Fidan on Sunday urged Muslim counterparts in New York to use their contacts this week to highlight the Gaza issue, the diplomatic source said.
Erdogan has so far met the leaders of Serbia and Albania in New York. The source said he and Fidan would also hold talks to discuss counter-terrorism, mediation, regional ties and investments.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Erdogan on the sidelines of the General Assembly on Tuesday, Greek government spokesman said on Monday.
The two leaders last met on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Washington in July.
Neighbors Greece and Türkiye, both NATO allies but historic foes, have been at odds for decades over a range of issues from airspace to maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically split Cyprus.
Tensions have eased in recent years and the longstanding sparring partners last year agreed to reboot their relations, pledging to keep open channels of communication, seek military confidence-building measures to eliminate sources of tension and work on the issues that have kept them apart.
