Turkey will not hesitate to protect its rights and interests in the Aegean and the Mediterranean, Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman and chief adviser, told US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Sunday.
During the meeting at Istanbul’s Mabeyn presidential resort, the two also discussed bilateral political and economic relations, defense industry cooperation, the war in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden’s applications to join NATO and developments in the southern Caucasus.
Kalin told Sullivan that Greece’s aggressive actions are unacceptable and counter to international law.
The two sides expressed the wish to broaden cooperation on the basis of common interests and said that the approval of the sale of F-16 planes and upgrade kits will serve the two countries’ strategic interests.
The sale has drawn opposition in the U.S. congress, with Representative Chris Pappas introducing an amendment, taken up by US Senator Bob Menedez, Chairman of the Foreign Relation’s Committee, that the Biden Administration must present guarantees that the planes will not be used to violate Greek sovereign air space.
Kalin and Sullivan underlined Turkey’s important role in NATO and noted that allies must act in harmony and solidarity against common threats on security, including all terrorist threats. They all agreed that diplomatic efforts to end, the soonest possible, the war in Ukraine, which they called a threat to global security and stability.
Source: Kathimerini
