Turkey asked Iran to reconsider its relationship with the countries of the region.

Turkey asked Iran to reconsider its relationship with the countries of the region. Turkey also requested Iran to appreciate their efforts in the war against terrorism, stressing that Ankara does not want to complicate matters with Iran.

Turkey called on the Israeli government on Wednesday to stop what it called “the policies of illegal settlement” in the Palestinian territories.

This was stated at a press conference for İbrahim Kalın, the spokesman for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara.

Earlier, Erdogan condemned Israel’s decision to intensify the building of settlements in the West Bank, characterizing the action as “absolute provocation.”

Last month, Israel announced its plans to build 3,000 new housing units in the West Bank. As such, Israel retroactively codified about 4,000 units which were built on private Palestinian land, a move that sparked condemnation from the United Nations and the European Union.

Europe and immigrants

The spokesman for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey expects that the EU would take steps as soon as possible to allow Turkish citizens to travel without a visa.

The immigration agreement between Turkey and Europe states that Ankara would stop the flow of illegal immigrants to Europe in exchange for exempting the Turks from visas.

The visa agreement stalled over divergence on the Turkish anti-terrorism laws, which European lawmakers say it is too loose.

Trump–Erdogan meet

The spokesman said that arrangements are under way for a meeting between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump before the NATO summit in May.

He added that it is almost certain that the two leaders would meet on the sidelines of the summit, but efforts are focused on arranging a meeting between them before that date.

Kalin asserted that the Greek Cypriot’s decision to celebrate the anniversary of the referendum to join Greece, which was carried out more than 60 years ago, will have negative effects on the talks for reunification of the Mediterranean island.

Kalin, who spoke after reports announced that the Turkish Cypriots would not attend a meeting that was scheduled for this week between the two sides, and hoped that the Greek Cypriots would reconsider their decision. He also said that it is up to them to take the next step.