Trump meeting with Arab leaders to discuss Gaza
President Trump has started a meeting with Arab leaders on the sidelines of the 80th UN General Assembly, saying it was of the utmost importance to negotiate the release of captives in Israel.
“I think we’ll be able to do it. This is the group that can do it,” Trump said as he sat with several Arab leaders.
“This is my most important meeting.”
What are Arab leaders hoping to achieve by meeting Trump?
They want to get into Trump’s ear. They want to change his mind on Gaza, and that’s why this meeting is taking place.
Clearly, the Trump administration has its plans that it wants to outline to this Arab and Islamic group. But I think this group will say to Trump, “Look at the killing. Look at the scale of the death toll. Look at the fact there is famine.”
There is a feeling certainly among diplomats here at the UN that sometimes in the White House, President Trump is only getting one side of the story.
And by coming here to the UN, they’re hoping they can persuade him to make a change in policy. Trump, in his speech at the General Assembly, said the ceasefire is something he needed to get to soon.
Maybe this is the day because we’ve already seen such a big change in policy on Ukraine. Clearly, Trump is listening to different and new ideas today.
Trump’s meeting with Muslim leader ‘very fruitful’: Erdogan
Turkiye’s President Erdogan said a meeting on Gaza between Trump and leaders of Muslim countries was “very fruitful”.
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.
