Türkiye's ambassador discusses bilateral ties, regional issues with US senator
Turkish and American officials described the talks as productive and noted the importance of dialogue and coordination in their Washington meeting.
Türkiye’s ambassador to the United States, Sedat Onal, met Senator Elissa Slotkin in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, with both sides describing the talks as “productive.”
The Turkish Embassy said on social media platform X: “Issues of common interest, bilateral cooperation between Türkiye & the US, as well as current regional and international developments were discussed.”
According to the embassy, Onal and Slotkin also underlined the importance of maintaining dialogue and coordination between the two countries.
No further details were released about the closed-door meeting.
F-35 programme
Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed his call for Türkiye to be readmitted to the US-led F-35 fighter jet programme, arguing the move would help strengthen relations with Washington and boost NATO’s security framework.
In written comments to Bloomberg, Erdogan described Türkiye’s removal from the programme as “unjust” and said Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency presents an opportunity to reset ties on “a more reasonable and constructive footing.”
He said Türkiye’s acquisition of the F-35 jets is “important and necessary,” and noted that discussions are also continuing on the sale of F-16s, the long-running Halkbank court case, and expanding US liquefied natural gas supplies to Türkiye.