From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Turkey says making ‘intense’ efforts to end Mideast war
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the country is making “intense” diplomatic efforts to end the conflict roiling the Middle East, sparked by the Israeli-US strikes on Iran.
“Attacks on Iran, and missile and kamikaze drone attacks [by Iran] on neighboring countries in the Gulf have fueled instability,” he says in a televised address.
“Through peace-oriented diplomacy, we are making intense efforts to resolve issues at the negotiating table,” he adds.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Washington’s Syria envoy Tom Barrack, ministry sources say.
He also spoke with his UK counterpart Yvette Cooper to discuss “the current security environment in the region,” evaluating “in detail” the “diplomatic efforts that could be undertaken to end the hostilities and establish stability.”
He also discussed regional developments with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis and Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
Turkey is a member of the NATO alliance alongside the US. Its relations with Israel collapsed during the war in Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.