Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that “issues concerning Palestine cannot be discussed without the Palestinians,” after the cancellation of visas for Palestinian officials who were set to travel to the US for the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, Anadolu Agency reports.

Emphasising that the issue is sensitive, Fidan said: “From the very first day, we have been working very intensively.”

Fidan underlined that the cancellation of visas, including Abbas, had two technical aspects: “It’s not that Palestine cannot participate as a state. As you know, Palestine has a permanent mission there. The permanent representative can participate in the General Assembly sessions on behalf of the State of Palestine.“

He added that the issue is unavoidable under the UN Charter, but since visas were denied, Abbas may not be able to attend.