Turkish, Iranian foreign ministers meet on regional situation

China

Turkish, Iranian foreign ministers meet on regional situation

2024-10-20 11:07 Last Updated At：15:17

Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Saturday to discuss bilateral relations and regional situation, with both calling for efforts to stop the flames of war spreading to the whole Middle East.

At a joint press conference, Fidan said amid Israel's intensified attacks in Lebanon and Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was constantly opening new fronts in the region and trying to drag Iran into the war.

The risk of war spreading to the entire region should not be underestimated, he said. Noting Türkiye does not want war in the region, he called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an end to Israel's attacks on Lebanon. For his part, Araghchi said Israel is the biggest threat to world peace as its operations have turned the Middle East into a powder keg. Iran supports an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, he said.

He pointed out no one, except for the Zionist regime, seeks the likelihood of war in the region. While reaffirming Iran's desire to de-escalate tensions, he emphasized Iran is fully prepared for any scenario. Since the outbreak of the current round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 7 last year, relations between Türkiye and Israel have deteriorated. Türkiye has repeatedly condemned Israel's military operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

In early May this year, Türkiye announced to suspend all import and export trade with Israel. Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called on the United Nations to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

Araghchi has been on a tour of regional capitals as Iranian leaders have repeatedly called for unity among Muslim countries to counter Israel's attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

On Oct. 1, Iran fired approximately 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killings of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and senior Iranian commander Abbas Nilforoushan, as well as Israel's increased "malicious acts" against Lebanon and Palestinian territories.

Chinese naval hospital ship makes maiden visit to Benin

2024-10-20 14:19 Last Updated At：14:37

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark, which is on the Mission Harmony-2024, arrived at the port of Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, for a 7-day friendly visit.

This is Peace Ark's first visit to Benin, and also the first time a Chinese naval ship has paid a visit to the country since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Medical teams on the vessel will provide service for local residents during their stay.

Local residents, Chinese citizens in Benin, and representatives of Chinese-invested companies boarded the naval hospital ship for a visit during its public opening.

"We are Chinese working in Benin. The moment we saw the arrival of Peace Ark coming from our homeland, we were excited, and tears filled our eyes because we feel the strength of our country," said Xu Hewei, a Chinese in Benin.

This is the 10th Mission Harmony for "Peace Ark" since its commissioning in 2008.

This mission will be the longest voyage undertaken by the "Peace Ark" among all the Harmony missions, and it is set to visit a record number of 13 countries.