Parliamentary delegation due in US for defense, regional talks

ANKARA

A delegation from the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs commission was set to visit Washington beginning Feb. 9 for a six-day series of meetings aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and discussing key regional and defense issues.

The delegation will be led by Fuat Oktay, a lawmaker from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and chair of the commission, following approval of the trip by the General Assembly.

Lawmakers from the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and the New Path bloc criticized their exclusion from the delegation.

In a statement, Oktay said the visit is intended to further expand relations between Türkiye and the United States at the presidential and governmental levels. The delegation is scheduled to meet the chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as several senators and House members.

Talks are expected to focus on the lifting of sanctions affecting Türkiye’s defense industry, Ankara’s “terror-free Türkiye” initiative and regional developments in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Gaza, Oktay said.

The visit comes as Ankara continues to seek relief from U.S. sanctions and renewed participation in the F-35 fighter jet program. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after meeting U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in September that he hoped the talks would help remove obstacles preventing Türkiye from purchasing the jets.