Turkiye, US to discuss key issues on agenda

Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, and US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will meet on May 18 in New York as part of the first ministerial meeting of the Ankara-Washington “Strategic Dialogue Mechanism”.

As part of the Mechanism, Cavusoglu and Blinken will discuss the state and prospects of economic cooperation, the fight against terrorism, partnership in the defence sector, and share views on the key aspects of the regional agenda, Anadolu Agency reports.

The parties are aimed at maximizing the effectiveness of the negotiation process.

The main disagreement between Washington and Ankara concerns the support provided by the US by the YPG terrorists (the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist organization). US cooperation with terrorist organizations in Syria has seriously cooled relations with Turkiye.

In addition, criticism in Ankara is caused by the position of the US authorities concerning the "parallel state" terrorist organization of Fethullah Gulen (FETO), as well as a negative attitude towards the supply of Russian S-400 air defence systems to Turkiye, which resulted in anti-Turkish sanctions.

Another issue that may be raised during the Turkiye-US talks in Washington is the dialogue between Turkey and Armenia.

The US administration stated earlier that it strongly supports the process of normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan.

As part of his visit to New York, Cavusoglu is expected to take part in the International Forum on Migration as well, which will be held for the first time under the auspices of the UN General Assembly.

The Turkish foreign minister will also attend a conference on the Global Call for Action on Food Security, which will be held at the UN Headquarters under the chairmanship of Antony Blinken. On the sidelines of this meeting, Cavusoglu plans to hold several bilateral meetings, including with members of the Turkish community in the US.

The Turkish foreign minister will reportedly stay in the United States until May 19.