Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the southern Turkish city of Antalya on Tuesday on the sidelines of the COP31 climate summit, as Türkiye hosts the international conference for the first time.

The meeting brought together senior Turkish officials, including First Lady Emine Erdoğan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum and Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu, alongside other presidential and government representatives.

The meeting came as world leaders and senior officials gathered in Antalya for the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which runs from Nov. 9 to 20.

eparations. He called on countries to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and reduce global emissions by around 6% annually in the coming years.

The UN chief also addressed the situation in Gaza, saying the international community had failed to prevent the suffering of Palestinians and calling for full humanitarian access. He accused Israel of obstructing the implementation of the Gaza peace plan and humanitarian assistance.

Guterres further warned of Israeli efforts to expand settlements and seize more Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, saying such developments pointed toward possible annexation.

Neither the Turkish presidency's initial announcement nor the available meeting report disclosed specific details of the issues discussed during Erdoğan and Guterres' bilateral meeting. (ILKHA)