President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani discussed bilateral relations and regional and global developments in Türkiye’s capital Ankara on Tuesday, the Presidential Communications Directorate said.

“President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye stands by the Syrian people and government to protect Syria’s territorial integrity, unity, and unitary structure and that the international community should cooperate in the country’s reconstruction process,” the directorate said in a statement.

The president also said Ankara is waging a fight against all terrorist organizations to protect its national security.

Erdoğan welcomed the Qatari emir with an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex.

The meeting between the two leaders took place behind closed doors.

Tamim also visited the Turkish capital last month.

During that visit, in the presence of the leaders, the two countries signed eight agreements at the Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee.

Türkiye and Qatar both support Palestine in the face of Israeli aggression, which has claimed at least 43,700 lives in Gaza since the Hamas incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Palestinian and Israeli delegations were in Qatar’s capital Doha on Tuesday as part of efforts to reach a cease-fire agreement.

Türkiye has been pushing for international action to put pressure on Israel. It cut off trade with Israel in April and joined a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), launched by South Africa, over its war crimes in Gaza.

Ankara views the West as the main enabler of the war crimes committed by the Netanyahu administration with their unconditional support to what Erdoğan has previously called a “death machine.”

Erdoğan, who defends a two-state solution with 1967 borders for the Israel-Palestine conflict, often notes the urgency of Muslim unity against Israel.

Ankara and Doha have enjoyed strong relations, particularly since the 2017 blockade of the Gulf country by Saudi Arabia and others. The two countries have strengthened military and economic ties in recent years.

Sheikh Tamim is a close friend of Erdoğan, who is credited with making Türkiye an international actor with his diplomatic skills, brokering important deals and raising Türkiye’s profile in global affairs.

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