National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar welcomed U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeffry Flake for talks in Ankara, Akar’s office announced Thursday.
The ministry shared no further information about the meeting, which was closed to the press.
Flake has served as ambassador to Türkiye since this January after he was appointed by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Defense-related issues between the two countries include Türkiye's aim to buy modern F-16 fighter jets and F-16 modernization kits, as well as U.S. support for the YPG, which Ankara considers the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist group.
While Washington claims it allies with the PKK/YPG to fight Daesh elements in the region, Türkiye has long protested this support for the group as it threatens its borders and terrorizes the local people; many Turkish authorities say it’s “senseless” to use one terrorist group to fight another.
After a bomb attack in Istanbul earlier this month that killed six people and left over 80 wounded, Türkiye this week launched airstrikes on YPG and PKK terrorist positions in northern Syria and northern Iraq, just across the Turkish border.
The PKK is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S., Türkiye and the European Union, however, Washington's support for its Syrian affiliate, the YPG, has been a major strain on bilateral relations with Ankara.
Under the pretext of fighting Daesh, the U.S. has provided military training and given truckloads of military support to YPG terrorists, despite its NATO ally's security concerns. Türkiye has thus been conducting its own counterterrorism operations, managing to remove a significant number of terrorists from the troubled areas.
