Turkey’s Cavusoglu says Blinken invited him to Washington for talks on May 18

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday his US counterpart Antony Blinken had invited him to Washington for talks on May 18, after the NATO allies launched a platform to improve and strengthen their long-strained ties this week.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels after a NATO meeting, Cavusoglu also said talks with the United States on Turkey’s request to buy F-16 jets and modernization kits were going well. He said Ankara welcomes reports that the US administration had sent a letter to Congress saying the sale would serve US interests and NATO.

Cavusoglu also said he and his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly had agreed at a meeting in Brussels to work to overcome a defence industry embargo imposed on Ankara, targeting equipment for its armed Bayraktar TB2 drones. [Reuters]