Turkey's security concerns should be met, the country's foreign minister said Wednesday on Sweden and Finland's NATO applications.
Speaking to reporters ahead of his bilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey has been in support of NATO's open-door policy for new members, adding: "We understand their security concerns, but Turkey's security concerns should also be met."
"We have also legitimate security concerns that they have been supporting terrorist organizations," said Çavuşoğlu, adding that another issue was export restrictions on Turkish defense products.
"We already expressed our concerns and I had a candid and direct talk with two colleagues," he said.
Turkey, a longstanding NATO member, has voiced objections to Finland and Sweden's membership bids, criticizing the two Nordic countries for tolerating and even supporting terror groups like the YPG/PKK.
A joint statement issued after a meeting between Blinken and Çavuşoğlu said the top diplomats "intend to deepen bilateral cooperation through constructive and open dialogue as envisioned by the U.S. Turkey Strategic Mechanism."
"They discussed ways and assessed concrete steps to enhance their cooperation on defense issues, counterterrorism, energy and food security, combatting climate change and boosting trade ties, while agreeing to intensify consultations on a range of regional issues," it said. "They also reiterated their support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russia's unacceptable war. Within this framework, the United States and Turkey reaffirmed their support to find a solution to end the war."
TALKS WITH US ON F-16 JETS SALES 'GOING ON POSITIVELY'
Çavuşoğlu noted a State Department letter to reporters in New York that addressed the US Congress which said the delivery of the jets "is not only important for Turkiye, but for the US."
"I can say that our negotiations and the meetings are going on positively, and the Congress should work on it as well," said Çavuşoğlu. "Most of the messages coming from the Congress regarding Turkish and US relations are positive and our diplomats are in close correspondence as with many of the parliamentarians and they have held many meetings."
He noted that "this positive approach" will continue.
A $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 newly built F-16V fighter jets and modernization kits for 80 F-16 C/D models that the Turkish Air Forces has in its inventory.
The Turkish government requested the F-16s and modernization kits in October 2021.
