Türkiye’s nationwide protection minister on Friday acquired a delegation of US members of Congress from the House Armed Services Committee within the capital Ankara, in line with an official assertion.
“National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler received Mike Rogers, chairman of the US House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Ranking Member Adam Smith, and members Salud Carbajal and Veronica Escobar. US Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry L. Flake was also present at the reception,” the National Defense Ministry stated on X.
The assembly is predicted to deal with Türkiye’s nationwide safety considerations “at the highest level,” with a selected give attention to points together with counter-terrorism and US assist for the PKK/YPG terrorist group.
The two sides are additionally anticipated to debate Türkiye’s acquisition of the F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits course of, awaiting US congressional approval.
Visit to parliament
The delegation additionally paid a go to to Türkiye’s parliament constructing, the place they met with lawmakers on the legislature’s Committee on National Defense.
Speaking to reporters after the assembly, the committee’s Chairman Hulusi Akar stated there have been no issues within the procurement course of for the fighter plane and kits, including:
“Necessary agreements and contracts have been made. Our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has had meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken … This now stands before us as a project being followed up on and agreed upon in a normal manner, with no issues.”
Akar stated that that throughout the assembly, the Turkish facet had underlined “the need for cooperation against the presence of PKK/YPG terror group in northern Syria and Iraq, as well as against the ISIS/Daesh presence.”
“We expressed the necessity of working together as two allies,” he added.
On the matter of Israel’s ongoing offensive within the Gaza Strip, Akar stated they highlighted the “urgent need to prevent the deaths of children, women, and innocent people,” including that Türkiye harbors no “hostility towards Israel’s existence.”
He stated additionally they different regional points, together with on the Mediterranean and Greece, in addition to on the Southern Caucasus nations of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Akar stated they “stressed the importance of Armenia accepting the hand that has been extended for peace,” including that the dialogue was “very positive and constructive.”
“We agreed to continue discussions by meeting in Türkiye or the US,” he added.
Expressing his satisfaction with the US delegation’s go to, Akar stated it supplied a chance for the perimeters to precise themselves face-to-face after an extended interval.
“We hadn’t been able to come together for a while. I hope from now on, for the benefit of our countries, NATO, regional institutions, peace, stability, and for mutual exchange of views and visits for the resolution of some issues between Türkiye and the US in our region, we will continue,” Akar stated.
He additionally conveyed his condolences for many who misplaced their lives within the latest collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge within the US metropolis of Baltimore.
For his half, the US Armed Services Committee Chairman Rogers stated the talks principally centered on security-related issues, expressing explicit curiosity the in Turkish facet’s views on how the Russia-Ukraine battle may very well be resolved.
Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan had earlier acquired the delegation on Thursday, in line with the Foreign Ministry. Turkish National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin was additionally scheduled for a subsequent assembly on Friday with the group of US lawmakers, safety sources stated.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
