British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace visited Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar in Ankara. Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Elizabeth Mary Truss has also visited Turkiye to meet Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Akar and Wallace had a tete-a-tete meeting as well as delegation-level talks.
The Turkish Defence Ministry announced that bilateral and NATO topics were discussed after the meetings. Ukraine was a chapter as a regional defence issue while cooperation in security and defence industry were other topics. The ministry stated that Minister Akar confirmed that Turkiye and United Kingdom relations continue based on strategic partnership in every field. Akar emphasised the increasing cooperation since export bans have been lifted in the defence industry. The importance of the fight against terrorism was underlined, especially against PKK/YPG, ISIS and FETO. The territorial integrity of Ukraine and the need for a ceasefire were mentioned. The transportation of Ukrainian grain to the world was discussed, along with bilateral military training.
UK Foreign Secretary Truss’ visit to Ankara gave more information about the framework of meetings as two ministers, Truss and Çavuşoğlu, held press meetings together. Turkiye’s option to get British support for the indigenous fighter jet TF-X was asked about during the session. On defence issues, particularly the TF-X program, Çavuşoğlu reminded that British Minister Wallace is already in Turkiye to meet Turkish Minister Akar.
Minister Çavuşoğlu said the meeting’s subjects were mutual relations, Ukraine, NATO, and Syria. And agreed to increase trade and expand Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and UK. Also agreed to strengthen mutual defence industry cooperation.UK Foreign Secretary Truss said the visit “Talked about steps to get grain out of Ukraine with Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu.” Also, she stated that “Türkiye is an important partner for the UK. We are key European NATO allies.”
