(MENAFN) Türkiye expressed gratitude for South Africa’s support of the Palestinian issue, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated during a meeting with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Ankara.

The discussion, held at the presidential complex, covered bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, according to reports from Türkiye’s Communications Directorate on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

Erdogan emphasized that Ankara is closely monitoring the continuous delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and ensuring the enforcement of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Wishing South Africa success in its G20 summit preparations in November, Erdogan noted that Türkiye would participate in the meeting in the strongest possible manner.

The Turkish president also highlighted efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two nations, expressing hope that the agreements reached and documents signed during the inaugural Bilateral National Commission meeting would yield positive outcomes.

In a notable development, South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December 2023, accusing it of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention during its operations in Gaza—a case that was paused following a truce announced earlier this month by US President Donald Trump.

Between January and May 2024, the ICJ issued three sets of provisional measures directing Israel to prevent genocide, stop military actions, and facilitate humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.

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