Turkey heads to Arab League ministerial for first time in 13 years, source says

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will discuss the Gaza war and ties with the Arab League when its foreign minister attends a ministerial meeting of the group in Cairo on Tuesday for the first time in 13 years, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Monday.

Turkey, which has condemned Israel for its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza and joined steps towards Israel facing genocide charges at the World Court, has had rocky ties with the Arab League in recent years.

While it has mended long-strained ties with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Ankara remains at odds with other Arab League members including Syria. After the war in Gaza started, Turkey joined a joint contact group formed at a summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to seek an end to the war.

The Turkish source said the invitation to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reflected a "growing interest" in Turkey's regional role and improving ties with Arab League members, adding that Ankara wanted to increase institutional ties and cooperation with the group.

Turkey's ties with Arab League members can help promote "solutions to current regional problems and concrete future cooperation," the source said.

Negotiations are under way between Ankara and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on securing a free trade deal by the end of the year. President Tayyip Erdogan called on Saturday for an alliance of Islamic countries against what he called an Israeli "expansionism" threat.

The last time Turkey participated in an Arab League meeting was when Erdogan, who was then prime minister, addressed the group's ministers in Cairo in 2011.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Editing by Timothy Heritage)