Top European, Mideast diplomats to meet in Istanbul Friday

Top European diplomats will hold talks in Istanbul Friday with their counterparts from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, a meeting initiated by Ankara, a Turkish foreign ministry source said.

Foreign ministers from the so-called E3 group -- Britain, France and Germany -- will meet counterparts from the newly created R4 group to discuss the Palestinian issue, developments in Yemen and the Hormuz Strait, and ways to end the Russia-Ukraine war, the source said.