Turkey and the United States should focus on common strategic issues to better align their interests and perspectives, Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın said late Sunday while emphasizing the importance of mutual interests and respect for improved ties.
Kalın received members of the U.S. Congress at the Dolmabahçe Presidential Working Office in Istanbul.
The U.S. delegation included Sens. Richard Shelby, Debra Fischer, Roger Marshall and Thomas Tuberville, members of the House of Representatives Norvell Kay Granger and Jerry Carl, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake and other officials.
During the meeting, regional issues including Syria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel and the Russia-Ukraine war, in particular, were discussed, while energy security, defense cooperation and bilateral political and economic relations were evaluated.
Kalın addressed the members of the U.S. Congress before the meeting.
In the address, he stated that Turkish-American relations can be cultivated on the basis of mutual interests and respect.
"We should focus on common strategic issues between the two countries in order to bring our interests and perspectives closer together. The sanctions against each other by NATO member countries are against the spirit of the alliance. The developments in our region offer opportunities to strengthen the ties between the two countries," he said.
Noting that Turkish-American relations have a deep-rooted history, he said that their ties grew stronger after Turkey became a NATO member following World War II and that they have continued within the framework of strategic alliances until today.
Kalın said that despite the differences of opinion on some issues, strategic cooperation and interests came to the fore in current relations, highlighting the new strategic dialogue mechanism Turkey was pleased to initiate on U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland's visit to the country.
Turkey and the U.S. announced earlier this month that they launched a strategic mechanism to further expand the countries' bilateral cooperation, according to a joint statement.
The announcement came on the sidelines of a meeting between Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and Nuland in the capital Ankara.
Turkey and the United States thereby announced the culmination of months of talks to set up a procedure to improve their strained ties, eyeing cooperation in the areas of economy and defense.
"In keeping with the commitment made by Presidents (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan and (Joe) Biden during their meeting in Rome in October 2021, Turkey and the United States launched the Turkey-U.S. Strategic Mechanism on April 4 in Ankara," said the joint press release.
Erdoğan and Biden had agreed in October to undertake the "Strategic Mechanism" talks for which officials have now cleared the way.
The announcement of the new mechanism between the two NATO allies comes after unprecedented tumult in their decades-old partnership over the last 10 years due to disagreements on many issues, including Syria and Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow. There are additional sources of strain between the two countries, including the U.S. support for the PKK's Syrian branch, the YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization; and the continued U.S. residency of Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) figures including its head, Fethullah Gülen, who plotted the failed coup attempt against the Turkish government in 2016.
War in Ukraine
Russia's war on Ukraine will change many things, Kalın went on to say, warning: "We are entering a new era, the cold war, we must prepare for its future effects. We must prepare for food, energy, cyber security and many other issues."
Stating that Turkey hosted the warring parties in two important meetings in Antalya and Istanbul to end the war, Kalın said the talks initially provided hope but the situation is relatively difficult at the moment.
Kalın emphasized that Turkey is still doing its best to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.
Highlighting the many important initiatives and efforts Turkey undertook to prevent the war from escalating, Kalın stated that the country helped reduce the risks by keeping warships away from the Black Sea within the framework of the Montreux Convention.
Turkey is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Turkey has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
'Turkey important friend'
Sen. Shelby stated in his speech that the event was an important opportunity for relations between the two countries.
"Turkey is a very important friend to the United States and we are here to support this friendship in the context of commercial, diplomatic and military relations. Turkey is a loyal member of NATO in the past and present. It's something we respect," Shelby said.
Kalın expressed that Turkey would be happy to host members of Congress and the administration in order to strengthen relations between the two countries and continue to discuss strategic issues.
Noting that the joint trade volume between the two countries is close to $30 billion (TL 439 billion), Kalın emphasized that this figure is not enough and the target is to reach $100 billion.