Turkish and US officials will hold talks on Friday under the Türkiye-US Strategic Mechanism in Washington, a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement has said.
Turkish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Burak Akcapar will hold consultations with Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and senior US officials, the ministry stated on Friday.
"Bilateral relations, regional issues and international developments will be discussed during the consultations," it added.
Türkiye and the United States are members of the NATO defence pact, and both nations share common strategic purposes. However, the allies also have differences in their decades-old relationship.
Türkiye's F-16 acquisition is a major topic that will dominate the talks.
Ankara has requested the F-16s and modernisation kits in October 2021. The $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 newly built F-16V fighter jets and modernisation kits for 80 F-16 C/D models that the Turkish Air Forces has in its inventory.
The Biden administration is in favor of letting the deal happen, but some key lawmakers in the US Congress are against selling the jets to Türkiye.
Sweden's NATO membership is another topic that both sides are expected to discuss
Last June, Finland and Sweden signed a memorandum with Türkiye to address Ankara's security concerns, and senior diplomats and officials from the three countries have held various meetings since then to discuss the implementation of the trilateral agreement.
Türkiye gave its approval to Finland's membership after Helsinki changed its stance on fighting terrorism and lifted its bans on Ankara.
An internationally recognised terrorist organisation responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, the PKK, continues to hold rallies against Türkiye in Sweden country.
Ankara has been fighting against the PKK for about four decades, and has criticised Sweden for providing safe haven for the terrorist group.
Türkiye also blames Sweden for allowing the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) to establish a foothold in the country.
Türkiye, on the other hand, has said that it will not allow Sweden to join the NATO alliance if Stockholm does not take concrete steps to combat terrorism.
Source: TRTworld.com
