Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues in a phone call on Friday.

Erdogan told Starmer that this year’s United Nations General Assembly was useful in advancing efforts towards a two-state solution in Palestine.

Congratulating Starmer on the UK’s decision to recognise Palestine as a state, Erdogan noted that the recognition of Palestine by UN Security Council members, including the UK and France, was a “historic development”.

The Turkish president stressed that the momentum in support of Palestine should be maintained and that measures beyond diplomatic pressure are needed to stop the Netanyahu government.

The UK officially recognised the state of Palestine on Sunday, joining more than 150 countries that have already done so.

“In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of the peace and the two-state solution,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a video statement ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Starmer noted that peace could only be achieved through establishing “a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state”, concluding that “at the moment, we have neither”.