Turkish FM, US counterpart discuss bilateral, regional issues
ANKARA
The Turkish foreign minister and his U.S. counterpart discussed bilateral and regional issues in a phone call on May 21.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Antony Blinken discussed the U.N. General Assembly meeting on Palestine, as well as developments following a cease-fire announcement in Gaza, according to diplomatic sources.
The top diplomats also discussed Afghanistan, humanitarian aids to Syria, and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, the sources added.
A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian resistance group, took effect at 2 a.m. Friday (2300GMT Thursday).
The Egyptian-brokered truce came after 11 days of Israeli airstrikes on the blockaded Gaza Strip.
US top diplomat reiterates importance of Turkish-American relations
"Continuing cooperation with our NATO ally Turkey on common priorities is of utmost importance,” Blinken wrote on Twitter after having the telephone call with Çavuşoğlu.
He reiterated American support for talks between Turkey and Greece, which are American NATO allies.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price also issued a readout of the Blinken-Çavuşoğlu call.
“Secretary Blinken spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to discuss areas of cooperation in Syria and Afghanistan and the importance of human rights and democratic institutions,” he said.
