Pakistan to host Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt for talks on Iran war

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt will meet in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East, the government said on Saturday.

It said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had invited his counterparts and that they would be in the Pakistani capital on Sunday and Monday.

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“During the visit, the Foreign Ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” a foreign ministry statement said.

The visiting foreign ministers would also meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it said.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will travel to Pakistan to meet with his counterparts from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and discuss regional de-escalation, Egypt’s foreign ministry confirmed.

A foreign ministry source earlier told AFP that the quadrilateral meeting would take place on Monday, with delegations expected to arrive in Pakistan by Sunday evening.

Pakistan has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as the conflict drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.
Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Amin Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump.

Ankara’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the private A Haber broadcaster that the meeting was initially planned to be held in Turkey.

“However, since our Pakistani counterparts are required to remain in their country, we moved the meeting to Pakistan,” he said late on Friday.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan “very soon,” without revealing his source.

While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump’s 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

With Agencies

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