Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted first R4-E3 meeting in Istanbul, with talks spanning Palestine, Hormuz, Yemen and Ukraine

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the first joint meeting of the R4 and E3 foreign ministers in Istanbul, bringing regional and European powers together to discuss crises in the Middle East and beyond.

The R4 comprises Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia; the E3 comprises Britain, France and Germany. Italy also joined at Ankara’s initiative. Attendees included Germany’s Johann Wadephul, Britain’s Ed Miliband, France’s Jean-Noël Barrot, Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty, Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar, Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan and Italy’s Antonio Tajani.

The agenda included the Palestinian issue—settlement expansion, settler violence and the two-state solution—as well as security in the Strait of Hormuz and Yemen. Ministers also discussed efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and prevent its spillover into the Black Sea. Fidan was expected to stress “regional ownership” of security and call for greater international pressure on Israel.