Ankara: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stressed the need to end the tragedy in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, sign a ceasefire agreement, and resolve the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution.

In a press conference on Monday with his British counterpart, David Lammy, Fidan said that Turkiye and UK are strategic partners who share many strategic goals.

We are both NATO member states. We are not members of the European Union (EU), but we have close ties with Europe, he added, noting the extensive cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, defense, and technology.

In this regard, he said the volume of trade between both countries is currently approaching the $30 billion target. He also pointed to the need to update the free trade agreement signed between Ankara and London in December 2020.

For his part, David Lammy said that his discussions with Fidan coincided with challenging geopolitical circumstances, noting that Turkiye had made great efforts, especially to achieve peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Separately, the British minister said that he had also discussed developments in the Gaza Strip with his Turkish counterpart, stressing the need to "alleviate the humanitarian tragedy" there and support efforts to achieve a two-state solution.

He said that Syria was also among the issues he discussed with Fidan in Ankara, noting the close cooperation between Turkiye and UK in this regard.

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