Top Turkish, US officials discuss bilateral, regional issues

RIGA, Latvia

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed bilateral and regional issues on Wednesday.

Cavusoglu and Blinken met on the second day of a NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Latvia's capital Riga.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Cavusoglu expressed his pleasure to meet with Blinken again.

Cavusoglu stressed that they have many issues to discuss, adding that they will hold a follow-up meeting on the issues discussed and decisions taken during the Rome meeting on Oct. 31 between Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Joe Biden.

He also noted that as two NATO allies, they will exchange views on bilateral relations and regional issues such as Ukraine, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan.

Blinken also expressed his pleasure to meet with Cavusoglu again and said they also discussed the situation in Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and the Caucasus during the two days of the meeting in Riga.

He also noted that they will have a chance to discuss cooperation issues and regional matters between Turkey and the US.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara.