Turkish defense official holds Congressional meetings in Washington

Hulusi Akar, chairman of the Turkish Parliament's National Defense Committee and a former national defense minister, met Tuesday in Washington with members of the US House Armed Services Committee to discuss defense cooperation, regional security and bilateral ties.

Akar said he held talks with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and committee member Rep. Pat Harrigan on Capitol Hill, where they exchanged views on defense and security cooperation.

"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.

Akar noted the importance of maintaining dialogue and strengthening contacts between the two countries' legislatures.

Separately, Akar and members of the Turkish Parliament's National Defense Committee visited Ambassador Sedat Onal at the Turkish Embassy in Washington.

Following last week's NATO summit in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his US counterpart Donald Trump has taken a "positive approach" on delivering F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye while also saying that US sanctions against Ankara have been largely removed.

In 2019, during Trump's first term, the US suspended Türkiye from the F-35 program after objecting to its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile defense system, claiming the system would endanger the fighter jets.

Erdogan said defense cooperation would remain "one of the key pillars" of Turkish-US relations alongside expanding economic ties.

The Turkish president also said he reached an understanding with Trump to expand cooperation in the defense and economic fields, although he did not provide a timeline for further agreements.