Türkiye ‘pleased’ with 'recent positive atmosphere' in ties with US: President Erdogan

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday praised the recent gained momentum in bilateral relations with the US.

"We are pleased with the positive atmosphere in Turkish-American relations in recent times," Erdogan told some US think tank representatives at a roundtable meeting with them in New York.

Erdogan arrived in the US on Saturday to address the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.

"Our differences of opinion with the American administration on some issues concerning our national security continue," the president stressed.

Türkiye has long complained of the US working with the PKK and its offshoots on the pretext of fighting the Daesh/ISIS terror group. Turkish officials say that using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.

Turning to economic relations, Erdogan said the bilateral trade volume with the US surpassed $30 billion in 2023.

"We believe that we can increase this figure to $100 billion," he added.

On the upcoming presidential election in the US on Nov. 5, Erdogan said that Türkiye is closely following the race between Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

"Regardless of who becomes president as a result of the elections, our view of America and our high-level dialogue in our relations will not change," he added.