World
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 18, 2023. Photo: Leah Mills/Pool/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday received Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington, discussing a broad range of topics, including bilateral relations, the Ukraine war, and the Syrian crisis.
The diplomats reiterated support for a “Syrian-led political process” in accordance with the 2015 UN security resolution which calls for a ceasefire and settlement to the civil war in Syria between the Syrian government and the Turkish-backed opposition movement, according to a joint statement from the US and Turkey.
Ankara has been recently showing signs towards normalization of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, despite Washington’s strong condemnation to the idea.
Both Blinken and Cavusoglu emphasized their country’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty amid the Russian invasion, with Blinken thanking Turkey for its role in facilitating the Black Sea grain deal.
Kyiv and Moscow in July reached an agreement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, to resume the exportation of grain through Black Sea ports for the first time since the start of the war in February 2022.
Modernizing Turkey’s F-16 fleet, NATO relations, counter-terrorism consultations, and trade relations were also discussed during the meeting.
Turkey made a request to purchase F-16 aircrafts, jets, and modernization kits, from the US in 2021.
Syria and Turkey severed ties in 2011 after Ankara provided heavy support to the political and armed Syrian opposition attempting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, supporting armed groups including hardline jihadists and sending its armed forces southward to carve out its own zone of influence against Assad and Kurdish forces.
On Friday, Assad said that the warming of ties with Turkey depends on Ankara’s will to withdraw from the country and cease its support for “terrorism,” a term used by the regime to refer to all opposition armed groups.
The diplomats reiterated support for a “Syrian-led political process” in accordance with the 2015 UN security resolution which calls for a ceasefire and settlement to the civil war in Syria between the Syrian government and the Turkish-backed opposition movement, according to a joint statement from the US and Turkey.
Ankara has been recently showing signs towards normalization of ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, despite Washington’s strong condemnation to the idea.
Both Blinken and Cavusoglu emphasized their country’s support for Ukraine’s sovereignty amid the Russian invasion, with Blinken thanking Turkey for its role in facilitating the Black Sea grain deal.
Kyiv and Moscow in July reached an agreement, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, to resume the exportation of grain through Black Sea ports for the first time since the start of the war in February 2022.
Modernizing Turkey’s F-16 fleet, NATO relations, counter-terrorism consultations, and trade relations were also discussed during the meeting.
Turkey made a request to purchase F-16 aircrafts, jets, and modernization kits, from the US in 2021.
Syria and Turkey severed ties in 2011 after Ankara provided heavy support to the political and armed Syrian opposition attempting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, supporting armed groups including hardline jihadists and sending its armed forces southward to carve out its own zone of influence against Assad and Kurdish forces.
On Friday, Assad said that the warming of ties with Turkey depends on Ankara’s will to withdraw from the country and cease its support for “terrorism,” a term used by the regime to refer to all opposition armed groups.
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