Senior Türkiye, US officials discuss bilateral ties in Washington meeting

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson has held talks with US President Joe Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan and under secretary of state for political affairs Victoria Nuland in Washington DC, discussing a range of topics, including twin quakes in Türkiye and ties between the two NATO allies. 

Kalin and the US officials discussed political and economic relations on Tuesday, earthquakes, defence industry ties, energy security, fight against terrorism, Sweden and Finland's bids for NATO bloc, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the South Caucasus issues and the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to a statement.

During the talks, Kalin voiced his pleasure for support and solidarity of the US and the international community following the February 6 earthquakes in Türkiye.

He said Türkiye is continuing its efforts for the rapid recovery and reconstruction of the earthquake-hit areas.

The meetings also focused on the strategic dimension of Türkiye-US ties and the importance of the two allies continuing their cooperation on global and regional issues on the basis of mutual respect and interest.

During the talks, the two sides stressed on taking more steps for the bilateral trade volume to reach the target of $100 billion.

"The focus was on deepening the scope of cooperation in the field of the defence industry without any preconditions," it added.

Ukraine conflict 

On Sweden and Finland's entry into NATO, it was stressed that Türkiye backs the alliance's open-door policy and that those Nordic nations' fulfillment of their commitments in line with the June 2022 Trilateral Memorandum will accelerate the process.

On Russia-Ukraine conflict, it was stressed that a prolonged conflict has deepened regional and global instability, while Kalin said that Ankara will continue its diplomatic efforts for a solution.

The officials also discussed Türkiye's role in facilitating grain exports out of Ukraine.

Kalin also noted that Türkiye will continue its fight against terrorist organisations, including the PKK/PYD/YPG, Daesh and FETO.