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F-16 statement from Çavuşoğlu after meeting with Blinken

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BNN Correspondents
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F-16 statement from Çavuşoğlu after meeting with Blinken

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey-USA Strategic Mechanism II. He met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital Washington as part of the Ministerial Meeting. Speaking to the press before the meeting, Minister Çavuşoğlu said that they would discuss bilateral relations, regional issues, and economic cooperation in their engagement with Blinken. Çavuşoğlu said, “Last year, our trade volume exceeded 30 billion dollars. Our target is $100 billion, and as our teams have discussed, there are opportunities in energy and investment. Of course, we will also evaluate our bilateral defense cooperation, especially our F-16 request.” I said.



Stating that Turkey's F-16 request is essential not only for Turkey but also for the security of NATO and the USA, Çavuşoğlu said, "We expect it to be approved in line with our cooperation and common strategic interests." said.

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Çavuşoğlu said that the fight against terrorism, especially the terrorist organization PKK, and developments in Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Caucasus would also be discussed.

Expressing that they will institutionalize the Turkey-USA Strategic Mechanism, Çavuşoğlu stated that this mechanism has been handy so far.

Blinken, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of Turkey-US relations and pointed out that there are differences of opinion between the two countries as allies on some issues.

Emphasizing that they appreciate Turkey's role in the Black Sea Grain Corridor Agreement, Bilinken said they would consider many regional problems, especially Ukraine and Turkey-US cooperation, as two allies. Making a new statement after the meeting, Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu noted that they agreed with his US counterpart Blinken to develop energy cooperation between the two countries.

Çavuşoğlu said that they proposed to the USA to institutionalize Turkey-USA Strategic Mechanism meetings and to meet at least twice a year. Regarding the F-16s, Çavuşoğlu said, "We say that Turkey's request for F-16s has nothing to do with the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland and that the US Congress should not show it as related." Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that they are ready to cooperate with the US to refocus on Syria but that the US has not kept some of its previous promises.

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