UPDATE - Turkish foreign minister discusses Syria, Gaza, Ukraine with US counterpart in Munich

ADDS STATE DEPARTMENT STATEMENT

By Mehmet Sah Yilmaz and Serdar Dincel

ANKARA/ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed the situation in Syria and Gaza, among other issues, diplomatic sources said.

During their first face-to-face meeting, which came on the margins of the 61st Munich Security Conference, Fidan shared Türkiye's views on the steps that countries in the region could take in the fight against ISIS (Daesh) terror group.

Fidan emphasized the importance of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved to establish regional peace.

Latest developments regarding the possibility of establishing peace between Ukraine and Russia were also discussed in detail.

According to the State Department's statement of the meeting, Rubio "emphasized the need for close cooperation to support a stable and unified Syria that is not a threat to the United States, Türkiye, or the region."

"The Secretary noted Türkiye’s leadership in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, our joint efforts to support a just and lasting peace in the South Caucasus, and our shared objective of ending Russia’s war on Ukraine," the statement said.

The two diplomats also discussed ways to further strengthen US-Türkiye relations, their "shared interests in the region," and growing bilateral trade, it added.

Fidan also held separate meetings with his UK counterpart David Lammy and German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on the sidelines of the conference, discussing bilateral and regional issues, including the need for a permanent truce in Gaza as well as the developments in Ukraine and Syria.

*Rabia Iclal Turan in Washington contributed to the story