U.S. Secretary of State Blinken to meet Turkish FM in Brussels
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will have a face-to-face meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the sidelines of the NATO foreign ministers gathering in Brussels on March 23-24, Ahval News reported on Monday, citing Al-Monitor.
The meeting arrives as Washington and Ankara remain at odds over a number of issues, including Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile systems and U.S. support for a Kurdish militia group in Syria, which Turkey designates as a terrorist organization.
Blinken will also meet with Nikos Dendias, foreign minister of Greece, with which Turkey is at loggerheads over hydrocarbon resources in the eastern Mediterreanean, Al-Monitor said.
The meeting is the result of efforts led by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, it said, noting that Stoltenberg is believed to have urged Blinken to meet with both Çavuşoğlu and Dendias to encourage talks between the two sides.