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

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

The R4 group of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia met with the E3 of Great Britain, France and Germany, with Italy also joining at the initiative of Ankara.

Among the participants were the German Johan Wadpole, the British Ed Miliband, the French Jean-Noel Brut, the Egyptian Badr Abdelati, the Pakistani Ishaq Dar, the Saudi Faisal Ben Farkhan and the Italian Antonio Tajani.

The agenda covered the Palestinian issue, including the expansion of settlements, settler violence and the two-state solution, as well as security in the Strait of Hormuz in Yemen and efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and prevent spillover into the Black Sea. Piden was expected to emphasize "regional ownership" of security and greater international pressure on Israel.