James Mattis

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım is scheduled to visit European Union term president Malta and then head to Germany to attend the Munich Security Summit, where he will meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
 

U.S. Chief of Joint Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford is set to visit Turkey on Feb. 17. Following the Feb. 9 visit of CIA head Michael Pompeo, Dunford is the second high-ranking U.S. official's visit to Turkey, as part of a Middle Eastern tour. 

Interim Defence Minister Stefan Yanev does not accept as an ultimatum the demand of the US for increasing defence expenditures.

At NATO headquarters, Yanev described as "timely" the message of US Secretary of Defence James Mattis for concrete plans in order for defence financing to reach 2% of GDP.

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joseph Dunford will pay a visit to Turkey on Feb. 17 for discussions on the Raqqa offensive, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık has stated. 

Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Joseph Dunford will pay a visit to Turkey on Feb. 17 for discussions on the Raqqa offensive, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık has stated. 

Conventional US ground troops may for the first time be stationed in Syria "for some period of time" to combat Islamic State, according to a CNN report citing anonymous defense officials.

U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis issued assurances that the U.S.-led coalition will provide more support to Turkey's Euphrates Shield Operation during his first meeting with his Turkish counterpart Fikri Işık late on Feb. 15 on the margins of a NATO summit in Brussels, according to Turkish officials.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis delivered an ultimatum to NATO allies during a visit to Europe - increase their military spending, or see America "moderate its commitment" to the alliance.

"I owe it to you all to give you clarity on the political reality in the United States, and to state the fair demand from my country's people in concrete terms," Mattis said.

The first meetings since Donald Trump entered office as president are being held this week between the Turkish government and the new U.S. administration. 

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ümit Yalçın arrived in Washington on Feb. 13 as part of initial political discussions with the new Trump cadre.

European member-states and Canada have increased defence expenditures by 3.8%, announced NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"This is significantly more than we envisaged initially. Roughly speaking, this is about USD 10 B more for our defence. The amount is considerable but it is vital that we continue at the same pace," stated Stoltenberg.