Turkish official meets US lawmakers on defence, counterterrorism

Hulusi Akar, chairman of the Turkish Parliament’s National Defense Committee, has said he held separate meetings with senior US lawmakers in Washington, DC.

Akar said on Thursday he met with Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to exchange views on bilateral relations, defence and security cooperation, and regional and global developments, including Iran.

“We emphasised the importance of the strong defence cooperation between Türkiye and the US—including the F-35 programme—for NATO’s deterrence and Euro-Atlantic security,” Akar said.

They also agreed on the importance of maintaining constructive dialogue between the Turkish and US legislatures.

Following last week’s NATO summit in the capital Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his US counterpart Donald Trump has taken a “positive approach” on delivering F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye while also saying that US sanctions against Ankara have been largely removed.