The Turkish and U.S. presidents agreed on "continued close consultations" between Ankara and Washington during their meeting in Madrid, the White House said on Wednesday.

The meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Joe Biden took place on the margins of the NATO Summit in Madrid.

The two leaders discussed Sweden and Finland's NATO membership bids, the Ukraine war, as well as the situation in the Aegean and Syria.

"President Biden reiterated his desire to maintain constructive bilateral relations, and the leaders agreed on the importance of continued close consultations between our governments," the White House said in a statement.

The U.S. president also welcomed Ankara's conclusion of a trilateral agreement with Finland and Sweden that paved the way for NATO to invite them to join the alliance.

"The leaders discussed their continued support for Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression, as well as the importance of removing Russian obstacles to the export of Ukrainian grain," the statement said.

The two leaders also spoke about the importance of maintaining stability in the Aegean and Syria.

In a brief conversation before the closed-door meeting, Erdoğan said steps being taken to strengthen NATO will have a "special contribution" in the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The Russia-Ukraine war has had negative effects on grain and oil, the Turkish president said, adding: "We are trying to resolve the process with a balancing policy in this regard. We hope that we will achieve results with this balancing policy."

He expressed hope of soon opening the corridors to countries currently lacking grain.

Biden thanked Erdoğan for his efforts to get millions of tons of grain out of Ukraine and for supporting Sweden and Finland's NATO membership applications.