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U.S. President Donald Trump praised Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a Florida investment forum, calling Erdogan a "great leader" and saying Türkiye was "fantastic" for staying out of the Iran war.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also revealed that a quadrilateral meeting among Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia is planned for the weekend in Islamabad to assess negotiations to end the conflict.
Speaking at a Future Investment Initiative conference in Miami, Florida, Trump praised the stance of several regional and Muslim-majority countries toward the Iran war.
"I think Türkiye was fantastic. Actually, fantastic. And they stayed out of things that we asked them to. And he's a great leader," Trump said, referring to the Turkish president.
He also praised Indonesia and the five Gulf states. "Indonesia was great. You know, you learn who your friends are; you really do. Indonesia, Türkiye, and so many other countries. But the five were great," Trump said, referring to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Trump predicted a transformed Middle East and said all countries in the region are now moving toward joining the Abraham Accords.
"The Middle East will be transformed. I think now all the Middle Eastern countries are going to be joining. In some cases, you're going to see people that aren't even from the Middle East wanting to be a member," he said.
FM Fidan revealed late Friday that a quadrilateral meeting of foreign ministers from Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia is planned for the weekend in Islamabad, the first such meeting since the war began, to assess regional developments and the state of negotiations.
"There seems to be some progress in negotiations. At least talks have started. Messages are being conveyed via Pakistan. The Americans are coordinating this with us, and we are informing the Iranians," he said.
He added that there is strong international demand for negotiations but stressed that expectations must be translated into concrete action, noting Türkiye is making every effort in that direction.
Fidan said the meeting was originally planned for Türkiye but shifted to Pakistan because his Pakistani counterpart needed to remain in-country.
"But since our Pakistani brother had to stay in his country, we shifted it to Pakistan," Fidan said.
Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary in the current bout of diplomacy, having delivered a 15-point U.S. peace plan to Iran.
Turkish Foreign Ministry sources also revealed that Fidan held phone calls on March 27 with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and U.S. officials.
The calls focused on the latest regional situation and "activities aimed at ending the war," ministry sources said.
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