Turkey and the U.S. should convince each other on differing views in a time when the strategic partnership matters more, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Wednesday.
Speaking on a radio show in Washington D.C., Çavuşoğlu said that it is a "normal process" for the two countries to differ on some issues.
"We are two important partners and we have common goals. But sometimes we think differently on varying issues, and when we openly say these thoughts it is being perceived that there is a problem between the two countries," Çavuşoğlu said.
''For example, we think differently on the PYD, but just because we have different opinions on the PYD does not mean that we will strain our ties [with the U.S.],'' he added.
Çavuşoğlu stated that Turkey shares evidences that the PYD and PKK are the same, and both countries should persuade each other regarding their differences when the strategic partnership between two countries matters more than it used to be.
Ankara considers the PYD to be a terrorist organization, citing its ties to the PKK, which has carried out a three-decade insurgency in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast.
Turkish-U.S. relations have gone south following a statement from U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby that the U.S. does not consider the Syrian PKK affiliate PYD or its armed wing YPG to be terrorist organizations. Kirby's statement was in response to President Erdoğan's ultimatum to Washington to choose Turkey or the PYD as its ally.
Even though Ankara repeatedly warned the U.S. and Europe that there are no good or bad terrorists, pointing to the YPG, the U.S. disregarded Erdoğan's last call and designated the YPG its "partner."
The foreign minister also noted that his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday focused on the ceasefire in Syria and the Daesh terrorist organization.
He thanked the U.S. for showing solidarity with Turkey after recent terrorist attacks in Ankara and Istanbul, and Kerry's ''tireless efforts" to reach a political understanding regarding a nuclear deal with Iran.
Çavuşoğlu arrived in Washington on Monday as part of the Nuclear Security Summit which will be held this week.
