Pope speaks by phone with Turkish President Erdoğan about war in Holy Land

By Vatican News

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, has confirmed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke on the phone with Pope Francis on Thursday morning.

In the call requested by President Erdoğan, the two leaders discussed "the dramatic situation in the Holy Land", according to Mr. Bruni.

"The Pope expressed his sorrow for what is happening and recalled the Holy See's position, voicing his hopes that a two-state solution and a special statute for the city of Jerusalem could be reached," Mr. Bruni explained.

The Turkish government had made it known in the morning that the President had expressed great concern to the Pope about what is happening in Gaza.

On 22 October, Pope Francis spoke to US President Joe Biden for about 20 minutes regarding the situations of conflict in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.