Turkish FM, Pompeo to discuss Afghanistan in Brussels

By Kubra Chohan

ANKARA

Turkey’s Foreign Minister and the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State will meet Friday in Brussels on the sidelines of a gathering of top diplomats of NATO allies.

During the bilateral meeting, Mevlut Cavusoglu and Mike Pompeo will discuss Afghanistan, Russia and NATO, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters at a press briefing in Maryland.

“They’re going to talk about Afghanistan. They’re going to talk about Russian deterrence and NATO’s invaluable role in Afghanistan as well,” Nauert said.

Shortly after being sworn in Thursday by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Pompeo headed to Brussels from Andrews Air Force Base, with Nauert noting that “no other secretary in recent history has gone on a trip as quickly as he has”.

Pompeo will “reaffirm the importance” of the U.S.-NATO alliance and hold bilateral talks.

He is later set to visit Saudi Arabia, Israel and Jordan and start his first full day of work at the State Department next week, Nauert added.

According to a statement by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Cavusoglu will “exchange views on the current security environment and review preparations for the upcoming NATO summit to be held in Brussels” on July 11 and 12.

Cavusoglu is expected to participate in bilateral talks with his counterparts on the sidelines of the meeting, the statement added.