Leaders from around the world convened in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday for a peace summit aimed at solidifying the ceasefire in Gaza and charting a path toward stability in the Middle East. A short clip from the summit has gone viral on social media.
The video shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan smiling and reportedly telling Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, “You look great. I need to get her to quit smoking.” French President Emmanuel Macron can also be seen laughing in the video. Meloni appears visibly embarrassed after the remark.
Turkey has made progress on tobacco control in recent years with bans, regulations, media campaigns and health programs.
US President Donald Trump co-chaired the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Over 20 world leaders were present at the summit.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi lauding US President Trump, said he is the only one who could have brought peace to the Middle East.
“Your excellency is the only one capable of bringing this about and bringing an end to this war,” he said.
Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh represented India. UN chief Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer were also among those present.
Notably, neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor any Hamas leader attended the summit.
According to The Times of Israel, following reports that Netanyahu had accepted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's invitation to join the summit, his office announced that he would not be making the trip.
As per the Times of Israel, Israeli leaders traditionally refrain from travelling on Jewish holidays and the Sabbath, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
