Turkish presidential spokesman meets with Biden's advisor, top State Department official in US

As part of a visit to the US capital, Turkish Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın held talks Tuesday with President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland at the State Department.

Kalın and the US officials discussed political and economic relations, last month's earthquakes in Türkiye, defense industry cooperation, energy security, the fight against terrorism, Sweden and Finland's bids for NATO membership, the Russia-Ukraine war, the South Caucasus and the negotiation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to a statement.

During the talks, Kalın voiced his pleasure for the support and solidarity of the US and the international community to Türkiye following the Feb. 6 earthquakes. He said Türkiye is continuing its efforts for the rapid recovery and reconstruction of the earthquake-hit areas.

The meetings also focused on the strategic dimension of Türkiye-US relations and the importance of the two allies continuing their cooperation on global and regional issues on the basis of mutual respect and interest.

During the talks, according to the statement, it was stated that facilitating steps should be taken in order for the bilateral trade volume to reach the target of $100 billion.

"The focus was on deepening the scope of cooperation in the field of the defense industry without any preconditions," it added.

On Sweden and Finland's entry into NATO, it was stressed that Türkiye backs the alliance's open-door policy and that those Nordic nations' fulfillment of their commitments in line with the June 2022 Trilateral Memorandum will accelerate the process.

On the war in Ukraine, according to the statement, it was stressed that a prolonged conflict deepened regional and global instability, while Kalın said that Ankara will continue its diplomatic efforts for a solution.

The officials also discussed Türkiye's role in facilitating grain exports out of Ukraine with the UN.

According to the statement, Kalın also noted that Türkiye will continue its fight against terrorist organizations, including the PKK/PYD/YPG, Daesh/ISIS and FETO.