Turkish FM set to attend counter-ISIL coalition meeting in Washington

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is set to attend the Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on March 22 in Washington, the Foreign Ministry said.

“Within the scope of the meeting, the stage of the struggle against ISIL will be assessed, along with additional steps that will be taken after in the light of experience,” the ministry said in a written statement on late March 20.

Çavuşoğlu is expected to hold bilateral talks with U.S. officials, deliver a speech at a think-tank conference, meet with U.S. media representatives and will receive some opinion leaders during his visit to the U.S. between March 21 and 22, read the statement. 

Çavuşoğlu is also expected to meet with Turkish citizens in New York after his contacts in Washington.

The meeting will be the first full meeting of the 68-member coalition since December 2014. 

“We are at an important stage of the fight against ISIL and will use this Ministerial to accelerate international efforts to defeat ISIL in the remaining areas it holds in Iraq and Syria and maximize pressure on its branches, affiliates, and networks,” the U.S. State Department announced early March.