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Turkish president, Hamas political leader discuss Gaza settlement

Erdogan and Haniyeh touched upon the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the exchange of hostages with Israel and the humanitarian aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave

ISTANBUL, April 20. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held a meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, in Istanbul, the TRT Haber television channel said.

At the closed-door meeting, Erdogan and Haniyeh touched upon the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the exchange of hostages with Israel and the humanitarian aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave, the television channel reported.

The Hamas political leader had visited Turkey several times before and held meetings with Erdogan. Speaking in the parliament on April 17, Erdogan said once again that he did not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. He also compared the movement to the Kuvayi Milliye volunteer forces that operated in Anatolia in 1918-1922 during the war for independence, which resulted in the declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923.