Rabia İclal Turan
16 March 2023•Update: 16 March 2023
WASHINGTON
Turkish Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin held talks Wednesday with some US Congress members as part of his three-day visit to Washington, D.C., discussing the recovery process after last month’s earthquakes in Türkiye as well as bilateral and regional issues, according to a statement by the Turkish Presidency.
Kalin arrived Monday in the US capital, where he addressed the US-Türkiye Business Forum and held meetings with top officials, including President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.
On Wednesday, he met both Democrat and Republican members of Congress, including Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.
Kalin also met with members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, including Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Budget Committee.
He also visited the office of Sen. Lindsey Graham, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The two previously held a meeting in Istanbul, Türkiye last June, after which Graham said he would “do all in my power to support the Biden administration’s decision to sell F-16s to the Turkish Air Force.”
In another meeting at Congress, Kalin met with co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis.
According to a statement from the Turkish Presidency, Kalin and senators discussed the strategic importance of Türkiye-US relations as well as the recovery and reconstruction process after the Feb. 6 earthquakes in Türkiye.
Removing the obstacles in cooperation in the defense industry, Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids, the Russia-Ukraine war and the extension of the Black Sea grain deal were also discussed during the meetings, the statement said.
