US President Donald Trump’s meeting with leaders of Muslim-majority nations, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly focused on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East.
Participants included Turkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan.
The 50-minute meeting saw Trump call it an honour to meet Islamic leaders and praise their efforts, saying, “You all have done an excellent job, which is commendable”.
The Turkish President described the talks as extremely productive.
As reported by the Emirati state news agency WAM, the meeting mulled taking steps towards addressing the worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn enclave.
NATO member Turkey has harshly criticised Israel’s attacks on Gaza and said they amount to genocide. It has halted all trade with Israel, urged international measures against it, and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in New York after the meeting, Erdogan said a joint declaration from the meeting would be published and that he was “pleased” with the outcomes of the meeting, but did not elaborate.
None of the other Muslim leaders spoke to the media after the meeting.
Later, Trump declared the meeting extremely important and spoke to the media about ending the Gaza war, saying it could possibly be concluded soon. He added, “We are going to end something that we did not start”.
He also outlined US plans for an Israeli withdrawal and post-war governance in Gaza without Hamas involvement, according to US media.
Washington is seeking Arab and Muslim nations’ agreement to send troops to Gaza to enable Israel’s withdrawal and to fund transition and rebuilding programmes, Axios had earlier reported.
As per Al-Jazeera, the Gaza plan was reportedly not drafted by Israel, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been made aware of the details. It is believed to envisage some future involvement by the Palestinian Authority (PA), something Israel has repeatedly said it will not tolerate.
Israel faces global condemnation over its military conduct in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has begun a long-threatened ground assault on Gaza City, with no ceasefire in sight. But Washington remains Israel’s staunchest ally.
