In Istanbul on 23 October 2026, the R4 foreign ministers — Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye — met counterparts from France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The first meeting in the R4+E3 format. It is not a peace treaty.

The eight ministers’ joint release covered the US/Israel–Iran conflict, the Israeli-Palestinian file, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and on shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, plus tension in Hormuz and the Black Sea. They called for dialogue, diplomacy and de-escalation. They agreed to keep the format going. Continuity. Not a closed calendar.

Separately, the sixth R4 meeting brought together Ishaq Dar, Hakan Fidan, Badr Abdelatty and Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Solidarity with Saudi Arabia; condemnation of Houthi strikes on Saudi civilians and infrastructure and on shipping. They called on the Houthis to stop attacks and return to the political process — an appeal, not a ceasefire already signed.

On Hormuz and the conflict with Iran: an urgent need for dialogue; freedom of navigation; a swift return to safe passage. Ministers reaffirmed support for the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — an existing document, not a new pact signed on Friday.

In the R4 statement: Israeli occupation framed as a fundamental source of instability; a call for a two-state solution on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as capital. That is the four’s position. It is not a Security Council resolution from the day of the meeting.

Fidan after the talks: another strike on Iran could widen the war; Hormuz must reopen; attacks on Saudi Arabia must stop. Barrot: a new US–Iran escalation would create only losers. Statements. Not ceasefire orders.

Image: Bosphorus skyline, Istanbul, 11 March 2018 — Jwslubbock, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The city, not the negotiating table.

Sources consulted: R4 bloc, European powers discuss developments in the Gulf in Istanbul meeting — Dawn; Joint Press Release on the R4 Ministerial Meeting with France, Germany, Italy and UK — MFA Türkiye; Joint Statement on the R4 Ministerial Meeting, İstanbul, 23 October 2026 — MFA Türkiye.