Turkish PM Erdoğan congratulates Abbas for unity government

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has congratulated the formation of the unity government between Fatah and Hamas and expressed Turkey’s solidarity with Palestine to President Mahmoud Abbas over the phone.

During the 15-minute-long conversation with Abbas, Erdoğan recalled that Turkey has long been an advocate of establishing a unity government in Palestine and had exerted efforts to this end, the Anadolu Agency reported. Welcoming the unity government, Erdoğan also praised Abbas’ role throughout the process.

The Agency said Abbas thanked Erdoğan for his government’s efforts for the unification between Hamas and Fatah and informed him that they have received positive messages from the international community, particularly the U.N., U.S., EU, Russia, and other European countries. 

Fatah and Hamas reached an agreement on April 23 and recently announced the formation of the unity government with plans to hold elections late this year.