Faruk Zorlu and Esra Tekin
11 July 2023•Update: 12 July 2023
ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden addressed several topics, including bilateral ties, security cooperation and regional issues in a meeting Tuesday on the sidelines of a NATO summit.
"We discussed our bilateral relations and the possibilities of cooperation in the security field during our meeting," Erdogan wrote on Twitter, expressing hope for a positive outcome of the bilateral contacts.
Türkiye’s Communications Directorate wrote separately on Twitter that "during the meeting, political, economic, and commercial relations between Türkiye and the US, cooperation opportunities in security and regional issues were discussed."
The White House later said Biden congratulated Erdogan on the agreement the Turkish leader reached with Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson and NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg to send Sweden’s NATO accession protocol to parliament for ratification.
"The Presidents discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, welcoming the latest round of discussions in the strategic mechanism and exchanging views on defense and economic priorities," the executive mansion said in a statement.
The leaders "also discussed regional issues of shared interest, including their enduring support for Ukraine and the importance of preserving stability in the Aegean," it said.
On Tuesday, the 31 NATO leaders convened for a two-day summit in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius, to discuss the Ukraine war, Sweden's NATO membership, and steps to strengthen the group's defense and deterrence, among other issues.
Türkiye has been a NATO member for more than 70 years and boasts its second-largest army.
