By Janet Ekstract, ISTANBUL – Prior to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s trip to the U.S.- Turkiye’s President Erdogan commented on Monday that relations with the U.S. stand to see a “significant momentum.” As Erdogan said: “I believe that we should and will achieve this for the sake of our region despite all the challenges, especially lobbies seeking to poison the two countries’ cooperation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is on a two-day visit in Washington from March 25-26 with a focus on bolstering Turkish-U.S. relations and readying for high-level visits between the two countries in coming months. On Tuesday, Fidan met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking the first visit for a Turkish official with the new Trump administration. Fidan is expected to discuss the Turkish position on key regional issues with a focus on the Turkish government’s support for Syria’s stability and territorial integrity. Other talking points include the issue of lifting sanctions on Syria and expanding cooperation in humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts. Also, a focus will highlight the fight against the terrorist group known as ISIL (Daesh) and refugee camp management. Their meetings will also underscore the need for mutual cooperation to combat terrorism that would include dismantling the PKK/YPG elements under the SDF umbrella and methods of combating the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Fidan is expected to focus on Turkish diplomacy and Turkiye’s diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and how best it can support U.S.-led ceasefire initiatives. He will also highlight how Turkiye can contribute to such efforts. Gaza will be front and center on the agenda with talks on how to reach a permanent ceasefire as well as underscoring the need to get humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip while reiterating the need for the U.S. to use its influence with Israel. Other agenda topics include lifting of the Countering Aerica’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, Turkiye returning to the F-35 program and eliminating barriers to defense industry procurement. Fidan will emphasize aligning defense industry cooperation with geopolitical realities with an eye toward achieving a $100 billion trade target. Meanwhile, Erdogan and U.S. President Trump spoke by phone on March 16 to discuss relations and regional issues. As Erdogan explained: “We have discussed many important issues, including the lifting of all obstacles before our $100 billion trade goal, during our sincere phone call. We discussed in detail, current critical developments in our region, Syria in particular.”
