US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Sweden’s accession to NATO during talks in Istanbul on Saturday, Anadolu news agency reports.
Along with the war in the Gaza Strip and the last steps for Ankara to finish ratifying Sweden’s application for NATO membership, the sale of US F-16 fighter jets to Turkey has also been discussed.
Erdogan has previously indicated that the sale of the F-16 is a condition for the Turkish parliament to vote on Sweden joining the alliance.
Other details of the closed-door talks, which also included the head of Turkey’s intelligence service and the US ambassador in Ankara, are not known.
After visiting Turkey, Blinken will continue to the Middle East. This is Blinken’s fourth visit to the region in three months.
He is scheduled to visit Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, as well as Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Egypt.
During the visit, Blinken will talk about concrete steps how players in the region can use their influence to avoid an escalation of the Gaza war, Blinken’s office said.
Washington also wants more humanitarian aid to Gaza, as well as the release of any hostages still being held by Hamas militants.
2024-01-06 19:41:27
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