UPDATE - Türkiye urges US to lift defense industry sanctions

UPDATE WITH MORE QUOTES FROM TURKISH, AMERICAN OFFICIALS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - The trade volume between Türkiye and the US continues to rise, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday, urging the lifting of defense-related sanctions on Ankara.

In a joint news conference with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said finalizing the F-16 fighter jet sale deal would benefit both sides.

On the Türkiye-US Strategic Mechanism, Cavusoglu expressed a willingness to hold a second meeting in the second half of 2023.

"Preparations are ongoing. We have a common goal here; to increase the opportunities existing in our relations and turn them into tangible gains. At the same time, we want to manage problems and challenges effectively. This is indeed the basic principle of the strategic mechanism," he said.

The mechanism was launched last April following a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Joe Biden on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome.

The first round meeting was held on Jan. 18 in Washington between Cavusoglu and Blinken.

Noting that economy and trade are two of the most important items on the countries’ positive bilateral agenda, Cavusoglu said the trade volume between the two countries reached $32 billion in 2022 and that the goal is to reach $100 billion.

Cavusoglu stressed that military ties are one of the important dimensions of the strategic partnership between Türkiye and the US, adding: "We are facing difficulties in defense industry cooperation due to unilateral sanctions ... We expect the sanctions to be lifted as soon as possible."

The sanctions were imposed over Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense, which Ankara says was a domestic decision taken when no Western country would reach a deal to sell Türkiye a system, adding that the system poses no threat to NATO.

The fight against terrorism is a priority for both countries, he said, urging more effective cooperation and collaboration in the field of security.

- Terror groups in Syria

Asked about Türkiye's position on US support to the terrorist group YPG/PKK in Syria – ostensibly for the purpose of fighting Daesh/ISIS – Cavusoglu said Türkiye believes that cooperating with terror groups is a "deadly mistake" and that the PKK/YPG terror group is not really fighting the Daesh/ISIS terror group.

Cavusoglu called on Blinken to fight all kinds of terrorism and terrorist groups together.

Citing the October 2019 deal between Ankara and Washington, Cavusoglu said the US must fulfill its responsibilities under the deal.

Ankara and Washington reached a deal in October 2019 to pause Türkiye's Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned safe zone, but Türkiye said the US did not fulfill its promises.

Asked about bilateral ties, Cavusoglu said the two countries should not wait for another disaster to improve ties and urged concrete and sincere steps to improve Turkish-US relations.

- Sweden, Finland’s NATO membership bids

On Sweden and Finland's NATO bids, Cavusoglu stressed that the trilateral memorandum signed last June lays out each parties' responsibilities.

Approving the Nordic countries’ NATO bids “especially depends on the steps that Sweden takes. Sweden gave some positive messages," he said.

But he added: "We clearly see that supporters of the PKK terrorist group in Sweden continue all kinds of activities, including financing terrorism, recruiting people, and terrorist propaganda.”

Cavusoglu stressed that everyone should encourage Sweden to take concrete steps.

The foreign minister stressed that Türkiye has taken measures to prevent the re-export of EU products to Russia via Türkiye.

Dismissing claims of Türkiye exporting products such as electronics to be used by Russia’s defense industry, Cavusoglu said: "We have asked our friends from the US and EU to give us any information or documentation, if any. If there is any violation in these matters, we will take necessary action. Our stance is very clear."

- Praise for Russia’s role as trusted broker in Ukraine war

For his part, Blinken expressed his country's commitment to providing support to earthquake-hit Türkiye.

"We stand side by side in confronting common security challenges," Blinken said as he hailed Türkiye's role in supporting Ukraine.

Saying that Türkiye's "clear voice in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity has been critical," Blinken said Türkiye's "diplomatic leadership, the foreign minister's (Cavusoglu's) personal role in brokering the UN's (2022) Black Sea Grain initiative has been critical and critical to making sure that food and food products could get to people in need around the world, including many people in low-income countries."

He praised Türkiye's "contributions as a long-standing and active member of the NATO alliance" and said the US "will keep working together to strengthen and grow our lines, including through the accession of Sweden and Finland, which will help deliver even stronger and more capable assets to the alliance."

"The matter of Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO is not a bilateral issue," he added.

On the F-16 deal, Blinken said it is the "national interest and security interest" for the Biden administration to both upgrade existing F-16s and provide new ones to Türkiye.

He further stressed that the US views the F-16 deal as "very important for ongoing NATO interoperability, and in the national security interest of the United States."

On US support to the terrorist YPG/PKK in Syria, Blinken said his country "very much recognizes" Türkiye's legitimate security concerns on its southern border.

"We will continue to work closely together to address both of those concerns. In the immediate moment, of course, we're both very much focused on humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria, who, like the people of Turkey, have suffered terribly from the earthquake and we're working together to maximize the support that can get to them," he said.