Ankara and Washington agreed to relaunch the Türkiye-U.S. Counterterrorism Consultations in the seventh meeting of the Türkiye-U.S. Strategic Mechanism in Washington, where they also highlighted the importance of coming up with a solution to end the crisis in Gaza, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
The consultations were launched to "expand cooperation against terrorism that threatens both countries' national security" and to fight all types of organized crime members and narcotics smugglers.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken reiterated his condemnation of terrorist groups PKK, DHKP-C and Daesh, which target Türkiye's security, according to the statement.
The two top diplomats also reiterated their determination to permanently defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria and cooperate against their offshoots in Africa, and Central Asia.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terrorism.
Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
The terrorists control areas near the Syrian-Iraqi border and unconfirmed reports say they travel between the two countries secretly.
The YPG has grown stronger in the region, particularly in Deir el-Zour province, home to Syria’s largest oil wells, thanks to material support from the United States.
The issue strains Turkish-U.S. ties as Ankara warns its NATO ally against aiding terror elements that threaten its national security, something Washington continues to do despite promising to remove the group from the Turkish border area.
"Türkiye and the U.S. announce they will capitalize on opportunities to advance defense industry cooperation," the statement also said on economic cooperation.
"Türkiye and the U.S. in a joint statement emphasize the importance of finding a way to end the conflict in Gaza, and to immediately overcome the humanitarian crisis," the ministry said in the statement released after the meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken.
"Türkiye and the U.S. announce they will capitalize on opportunities to advance defense industry cooperation," the statement also said on economic cooperation.
The ministry added: "Türkiye, U.S. affirm the importance of developing bilateral forums to improve and deepen economic cooperation."