Türkiye will not discuss any energy-related projects with Israel without a cease-fire in Palestine's Gaza as it would be disrespectful to its Palestinian brothers and sisters who are experiencing great brutality, the country’s energy minister has said.
"In an environment of such great brutality, human drama, it would be disrespectful to humanity, to our humanity, to our siblings there (in Palestine) to talk about any project,” energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Tuesday on a private TV channel.
"After the great brutality and cruelty experienced there, the only project we can talk about right now is how we can get Gaza's electricity back on its feet again,” he said, pointing out that life has stopped in the region after the attacks.
“We have sent generators. They are waiting at the Rafah border crossing,” he added.
“How can we contribute there with floating power plants and mobile power plants, which we call power ships? We can bring those people back to their normal lives. It is impossible to talk about anything without a cease-fire."
Bayraktar emphasised that Palestine has a special place in his heart and noted that electricity supply projects to the Middle Eastern country were discussed during negotiations with the Israeli side after 2016.
