ISTANBUL, Jan. 7 (Sputnik) - Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday, a diplomatic source has told Sputnik.

Blinken embarked on a trip to the Middle East on Thursday to highlight the importance of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. The secretary also held a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following talks with Fidan.

"The ministers assessed the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip. Fidan noted the threat to the entire region posed by intensifying Israeli attacks and called for an immediate ceasefire to ensure uninterrupted supplies of humanitarian aid. He also called for an early start of negotiations for a two-state solution," the source said.

In addition, the ministers discussed negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the situation in Syria and Iraq, as well as other regional issues.

In December, Erdogan said he had discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip with US President Joe Biden and urged Washington to intervene.

Fidan and Blinken also discussed Ankara's efforts to resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the source noted.

"Minister Fidan said Ankara does not want to see tension in the Black Sea region and mentioned efforts to ensure the safe transportation of food products produced in Russia and Ukraine to global markets," the source said.

At the same time, the Turkish foreign minister told his counterpart that Ankara is waiting for the completion of the F-16 procurement process, the source added.

In April 2021, the US excluded Turkiye from the F-35 program after Ankara purchased Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Erdogan said later that year that Washington had offered that Ankara buy F-16 jets instead, one generation behind the F-35s. However, the deal needs approval from the US Congress, with many lawmakers strongly opposing the initiative, in particular, due to Turkiye's position on Sweden's NATO bid.

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