Erdogan: We will raise the massacres of the Palestinian people at the NATO summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Tuesday his country's tireless efforts to stop the ceasefire in Gaza, noting that he will raise the issue of the massacres being committed against the Palestinian people and Gazans at the NATO leaders' summit.

"We held many fruitful meetings in Doha regarding the ceasefire in Gaza, and there are positive steps taken there but they have not yielded results so far," Erdogan said in statements he made on Tuesday during a press conference in the capital Ankara, before heading to the US capital Washington to attend the NATO leaders' summit, which is being held between July 9 and 11 in the US capital Washington.

He added that Turkey is eagerly following the talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, aimed at a ceasefire in Gaza, and that it hopes for the desired result as soon as possible. He continued: "The war on Gaza will be on our agenda, and we will discuss the inefficiency of the international community in stopping terrorism and unjust attacks by Israel against the people of Gaza and the occupation in the Palestinian territories."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left the capital Ankara on Tuesday for Washington to attend the NATO summit. The presidential plane carrying Erdogan and his accompanying delegation took off from Esenboga International Airport at 10:00 local time.

President Erdogan was seen off at the airport by his deputy Cevdet Yilmaz, Youth and Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak, other government and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials, and Ankara Governor Vasip Sahin. Erdogan is accompanied on his visit, which runs from July 9 to 11, by his wife Emine Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Intelligence Chief Ibrahim Kalin, and Presidential Chief of Staff Hasan Dogan.

He is also accompanied by the President's Senior Advisor for Foreign Policy and Security, Ambassador Akif Cagatay Kılıç, the President of the Defense Industries Authority of the Presidency of the Republic Haluk Gorgun, the Deputy Head of the Communications Department of the Turkish Presidency Cagatay Özdemir, and the Deputy Chairwoman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, Çigdam Karaaslan.

Erdogan is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with heads of state and government on the sidelines of the NATO summit, which coincides with the 75th anniversary of the alliance. The summit sessions will be attended by leaders of NATO partners in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and representatives of the European Union.