ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken had invited him to Washington for talks on May 18, after the NATO allies launched a platform to improve and strengthen their long-strained ties this week.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels after a NATO meeting, Cavusoglu also said talks with the United States on Turkey’s request to buy F-16 jets and modernisation kits were going well. He said Ankara welcomes reports that the U.S. administration had sent a letter to Congress saying the sale would serve U.S. interests and NATO.
Cavusoglu also said he and his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly had agreed at a meeting in Brussels to work to overcome a defence industry embargo imposed on Ankara, targeting equipment for its armed Bayraktar TB2 drones.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Ali Kucukgocmen)
