Presidential aide meets Biden’s adviser, State Department official

WASHINGTON

Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın met with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House and U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland at the U.S. Department of State on March 14, as part of his visit to Washington.

Kalın and the U.S. officials discussed bilateral political and economic relations, the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye, cooperation in the defense industry, energy security, the fight against terrorism, Sweden and Finland’s bids for NATO membership, the Russia-Ukraine war, the South Caucasus and the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to a statement by the Turkish presidency.

Kalın welcomed the support and solidarity of the U.S. and the international community after the earthquake disaster and said that Türkiye is continuing its efforts for the rapid recovery and reconstruction of the earthquake area.

The talks also focused on the strategic dimension of Türkiye-U.S. relations and the importance of the two allies continuing their cooperation on global and regional issues based on mutual respect and interest.

Kalın expressed that facilitating steps should be taken 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 defense industry without any preconditions,” the statement said.

On Sweden and Finland’s NATO bid, Kalın noted that Türkiye backs the alliance’s open-door policy and that the Nordic nations’ fulfillment of their commitments in line with the June 2022 Trilateral Memorandum will accelerate the process.

On the war in Ukraine, Kalın told his interlocutors that a prolonged conflict deepened regional and global instability. Ankara will continue its diplomatic efforts for a solution, he added.

The officials also discussed Türkiye’s role in facilitating grain exports out of Ukraine with the U.N.