Eastern Mediterranean

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed bilateral relations on the sidelines of NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Latvia's capital Riga on Dec. 1. 

Çavuşoğlu paid a visit to Latvia to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Riga on 30 November-1 December 2021 and to hold a number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

Turkish presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and U..S National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan exchanged views on bilateral relations and regional issues during a telephone call on Nov. 19. 

The two officials spoke about political and economic relations, cooperation in defense, global and regional matters, the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.

One the eve of talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Cyprus' Foreign Minister Christodoulides in Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry issued a lengthy statement expressing support for a viable and just solution of the Cyprus problem in the international legal framework shaped by UN Security Council resolutions, which provide for the creation of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federat

In the wake of Greece's defense agreements with France and the United States, the 9th Greece-Egypt-Cyprus Tripartite Summit is taking place today, Tuesday, in Athens, at which key regional policy issues are on the table, focusing on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. the Cyprus issue and Libya, as well as the dynamics of cooperation having as a spearhead the energy sector.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar discussed with his Italian counterpart on July 13, bilateral and regional security issues and the latest developments in Afghanistan, Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry.

The meeting between Akar and Lorenzo Guerini in Istanbul was constructive and positive, it said.

The European Commission announced June 24 that it has adopted a number of conclusions on Turkey after the first day of an EU Leaders' Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

The Turkish foreign minister and his U.S. counterpart discussed bilateral and regional issues in a phone call on May 21.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Antony Blinken discussed the U.N. General Assembly meeting on Palestine, as well as developments following a cease-fire announcement in Gaza, according to diplomatic sources.

The NATO alliance can emerge stronger after a period of internal divisions and must keep Turkey at the heart of transatlantic ties, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on March 23.     

Blinken said that, despite public differences with Ankara, the United States and NATO had a strong interest in keeping Turkey anchored in the alliance.     

The EU will engage in talks with Turkey on outstanding issues in the region, according to the EU's foreign policy chief.

"On the eastern Mediterranean, we will pursue dialogue with Turkey on outstanding issues," Josep Borrell said in his book, European Foreign Policy in Times of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will head a delegation to Cyprus and Israel Monday to discuss bilateral ties and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.

His visit to Nicosia for talks with President Nicos Anastasiades takes place ahead of an informal summit on the Cyprus issue in early March.