Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın and United States National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed bilateral relations, Ukraine crisis and Turkey's normalization with Armenia in phone call late Tuesday.
According to a statement by the presidency, the two officials agreed on the importance of improving Turkey-U.S. relations by creating a joint strategic mechanism to allow sustainable dialogue between the two nations.
The officials also discussed efforts to solve Ukraine crisis through dialogue and cooperation, while Kalın underlined that Turkey is ready to provide any support necessary as a NATO ally.
He also emphasized that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's upcoming visit to Kyiv will contribute to the efforts to solve the crisis through diplomacy.
The U.S. with its European allies has been warning that Russia is setting the stage for an invasion of Ukraine and has pre-positioned over 100,000 troops on its border with the former Soviet republic alongside significant artillery and tank deployments.
Moscow has denied preparing for a military offensive, saying its troops are there for regular exercises.
Turkey has been closely following the developments and is in close contact with both Kyiv and Moscow. President Erdoğan had said Turkey could mediate between the neighbors amid increasing tensions in the region and recently announced a visit to Ukraine on Feb. 3 to help defuse tensions; likewise, Putin said he would visit Turkey upon Erdoğan’s invitation when the pandemic situation and schedules allow.
NATO member Turkey has friendly ties with both Kyiv and Moscow but opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Kyiv has also bought Turkish drones to possibly use against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, angering Moscow, and agreed with Ankara to manufacture the drones locally this year.
Since 2014, Russia has been supporting separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, a policy it has maintained for the past eight years.
In response to Russia's actions, NATO enhanced its presence in the eastern bloc, with four multinational battalion-size battle groups deployed to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland on a rotational basis
