During the meeting, Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ support for Turkey after the earthquake and promised to continue providing assistance, according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.
Support Ukraine
The two officials also discussed support for Ukraine and emphasized working “closely” on a range of bilateral issues, including defence, energy and trade.
The United States recognizes the constructive role of Turkey, its ally, in the context of recent geopolitical tensions. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Ankara – which enjoys good relations with Kiev and Moscow – has offered its mediation to end it.
Prior to his meeting with the Turkish President, Anthony Blinken touched on his statements he had made the day before, in which he said that China was considering sending “weapons” to Russia.
He warned Monday that “providing lethal support to Russia to help its war of aggression in Ukraine will have real consequences for our relations with China…and will pose a real problem for China in its relations with a number of other countries, not just the United States.”
“So we hope they don’t go that route,” he added.
For its part, Beijing denied these intentions, describing it as “false information.”
sell “f-16”
After meeting Erdogan, Blinken went to the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, where he laid a wreath in the rain and signed a booklet at the site.
Another geopolitical issue is the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets that President Joe Biden promised Ankara and blocked by Congress over concerns about Turkey’s human rights record and the threats it poses to Greece.
In the context, Blinken said, “The (President Joe) Biden administration strongly supports the package aimed at modernizing the existing F-16 (aircraft) and providing Turkey with new ones,” noting at the same time that he was unable to give an “official timetable” for that. Any sale is conditional on Congress giving its green light.
People’s Protection Units
Also among the contentious issues is the Kurdish “People’s Protection Units”, which Turkey classifies as “terrorists” and which spearheads the fight against the Islamic State, with air support from the US-led international coalition.
Blinken said the United States is fully aware of Turkey’s legitimate security concerns over its southern border, and pledged to work closely together to address those concerns.
Sweden and Finland
The issue of Sweden and Finland joining NATO is another contentious issue between Turkey and the United States, and Blinken said that his country strongly supports the accession of the Scandinavian countries to NATO as soon as possible, and confirmed that Finland and Sweden have taken concrete steps according to the memorandum signed with Turkey.
In turn, Cavusoglu said that all parties must persuade Sweden to take concrete steps to allay Turkey’s concerns regarding ratification of its accession to NATO.
