Çavuşoğlu, Blinken discuss Türkiye-US ties, regional issues

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, discussed bilateral ties and regional issues over the phone on Dec. 22.

They discussed the latest developments in Ukraine, especially the implementation of the grain agreement, NATO enlargement, Türkiye’s F-16 procurement process and the upcoming visit schedule, according to a statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

The latest developments in Syria were also on their agenda, said the statement, noting that Çavuşoğlu emphasized that Türkiye’s fight against terrorism would continue with determination.

Blinken thanked Çavuşoğlu for his government’s efforts to ensure the continuation of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

Blinken and Çavuşoğlu underscored the importance of NATO unity in supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unprovoked war, the spokesperson said.

“Secretary Blinken also expressed concern over the situation in Syria,” he added.

Ankara has repeatedly vowed to launch a ground offensive into northern Syria following a bomb attack on Istanbul’s Istiklal Avenue on Nov. 13 that killed six people and injured 81. Turkish authorities blamed the attack on the illegal PKK group and its Syrian affiliate, the YPG.

Turkish military began massive air operations against the PKK targets in Iraq and YPG in northern Syria.

Upon the Turkish government’s request in late 2021, Ankara and Washington have been negotiating the sale of 40 new F-16 warfighters and 79 modernization kits after Türkiye was excluded from the joint F-35 fifth-generation fighter jet program due to its deployment of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

More than 40 congressmen from both Republican and Democratic parties had opposed this sale through a letter conveyed to the White House in late 2021.

But in a recent move, the U.S. removed the amendments introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives over the sales of F-16 jets to Türkiye in the final defense spending bill.

Another topic in the U.S.-Türkiye agenda is the latter’s ratification process for Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. Ankara insists on the full implementation of a trilateral deal with the Nordic countries, which envisages extradition and freeze of assets belonging to people who Ankara sees as affiliated with the PKK ad FETÖ.