Turkish, US lawmakers discuss defense ties in Washington

WASHINGTON

Hulusi Akar, chairman of the Turkish parliament’s National Defense Committee, held talks with U.S. lawmakers in Washington on defense cooperation, regional security and bilateral ties.

Akar, a former national defense minister, met House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and committee member Rep. Pat Harrigan on Capitol Hill on July 14.

“We evaluated opportunities for cooperation in the fields of defense and security, clearly conveyed our country’s views and expectations to our counterparts, and discussed regional and global developments,” Akar said.

He said maintaining dialogue and strengthening contacts between the legislatures of the two countries were important for bilateral relations.

Akar and members of the Turkish parliament’s National Defense Committee also visited Türkiye’s Ambassador to Washington Sedat Önal at the Turkish Embassy.

The talks came after last week’s NATO summit in Ankara, where defense cooperation between Türkiye and the United States was again on the agenda.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said after the summit that U.S. President Donald Trump had taken a “positive approach” on the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye.

Erdoğan also said U.S. sanctions on Ankara had been largely removed and that defense cooperation would remain one of the main pillars of Turkish-U.S. relations.

Türkiye was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after Washington objected to its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems, arguing that the system could endanger the aircraft.

Ankara has rejected those concerns and has continued to call for either its return to the program or compensation for the aircraft it paid for.

Erdoğan said he had reached an understanding with Trump to expand cooperation in defense and economic ties, though no timeline for further steps has been announced.