UPDATE - Turkish foreign minister meets with US secretary of state in London

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London to discuss various issues, including Sweden's accession to NATO, defense cooperation, as well as bilateral ties.

The talks took place in central London, where the two counterparts had arrived for the Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Fidan told reporters before the meeting, "Today, we are here in London to demonstrate our support for Ukraine."

Although the two countries may not see eye to eye on every issue, Fidan noted that their longstanding alliance within NATO and other platforms compel them to continue working together.

Recalling that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden established Türkiye-US strategic mechanisms last year in the Spanish capital Madrid, Fidan said the goal of the mechanism is to address the outstanding issues and explore opportunities for deeper cooperation.

For his part, Blinken said it is a pleasure to meet with the "colleague of many years,” referring to Hakan Fidan, Türkiye’s new foreign minister.

He praised bilateral relations, saying, "There's so much the US and Türkiye are doing together on the most essential, vital issues."

He underlined that during the meeting, the upcoming NATO summit, Sweden's accession to the alliance and defense cooperation between the US and Türkiye will be on the agenda, as well as bilateral ties.

"...and moving forward, a number of issues, including energy and economic collaboration, but the relationship between our countries is deep and rich," Blinken added.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, the duo discussed the latest situation in Ukraine, NATO's enlargement and normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the context of developments in the South Caucasus.

Along with bilateral ties, the Black Sea Grain Deal which was implemented with the initiative of Türkiye were also discussed during the talks.

The two ministers arrived at the InterContinental London hotel, where they were attending the Ukraine Recovery Conference.

Earlier, Fidan also held separate talks with Danish counterpart Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Italy's Antonio Tajani, Germany's Annalena Baerbock and Austria's Alexander Schallenberg on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference.