The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament, chaired by lawmaker Fuat Oktay of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), will travel to Washington, D.C. on Feb. 9 for a six-day visit.
Parliament’s General Assembly recently approved a motion for the visit. Oktay said in a statement that the visit aims to expand the warm relations between the United States and Türkiye on the presidential and governmental levels. Oktay added that they would hold talks with the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee chair, the chair of the House of Representatives, and several senators and House representatives during the visit.
“The lifting of sanctions on the defense industry, the terror-free Türkiye initiative, as well as developments in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Gaza will be on the agenda,” Oktay stated.
Following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in September, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he was hopeful that the meeting would help lift sanctions blocking Ankara's purchase of F-35 jets.
Ankara was excluded from the U.S.-led multinational program in 2019 over its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Ever since, it has repeatedly called the move unfair and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during Trump's second term.
