Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday met United States' Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York, discussing a range of issues including the Black Sea grain deal and tensions in the South Caucasus.
According to the U.S. State Department, Blinken said the U.S. continues to engage to facilitate dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and help achieve a long-term political settlement to the conflict.
"They also discussed ways to advance coordination and NATO unity in response to Russia's war against Ukraine," spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
The two diplomats also discussed the Black Sea grain deal signed in Istanbul in July that allowed shipments to leave Ukrainian ports.
"The Secretary commended Turkish diplomatic efforts to ensure continued shipment of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and emphasized the importance of maintaining U.N.-brokered agreements and holding Moscow accountable for the commitments it has made," said Price.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the closed-door meeting at Lotte New York Palace, Blinken said he was "grateful" for Türkiye's contribution in NATO as an ally and role for dealing with challenges "we're facing now."
Blinken thanked Çavuşoğlu for the Black Sea grain deal signed in Istanbul in July that allowed shipments to leave three Ukrainian ports and said the meeting would also tackle the Ukraine war.
The Turkish foreign minister said on Twitter that he discussed with Blinken "bilateral issues, the war in Ukraine and regional developments."
The meeting, which came on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, lasted about 30 minutes.
Çavuşoğlu also met with his counterparts from Germany, Spain and India and the United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations in New York on Tuesday.
The top diplomat met separately with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
He then had a trilateral meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares Bueno and the U.N. High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Angel Moratinos.
Later, Çavuşoğlu also held a bilateral meeting with his Spanish counterpart.
During the day, he met with his counterparts from the United States, Montenegro, Bulgaria and the secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Çavuşoğlu shared the details of the meetings within the scope of the 77th U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on his Twitter account.
“We discussed NATO enlargement and recent developments in Ukraine, including grain exports, with the Spanish foreign minister, with whom we met in the margins of the 77th U.N. General Assembly. We discussed visa issues, Aegean problems, and the latest developments in Ukraine with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock,” Çavuşoğlu said.
Noting that they also discussed the issue of how to strengthen the Alliance of Civilizations with U.N. High-Representative Moratinos and Italian Minister Bueno, Çavuşoğlu emphasized that they discussed the steps that can be taken to further develop Türkiye-India relations with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar.
