Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said that the meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his American counterpart Donald Trump was positive, noting that the Turkish president invited Trump to Ankara.
"Mr President's visit was extremely friendly, positive, and constructive. Mr President invited President Trump to our country for both a bilateral visit and for next year's NATO summit in Ankara. During the meeting, an agreement was reached that issues such as CAATSA sanctions, which hinder our further strengthening of relations, must be resolved," Fidan told the press on Saturday.
Fidan also noted that potential steps in the defence industry were being reviewed.
"We will work on concrete projects to advance economic and commercial relations in a balanced manner and reach a trade volume of $100 billion," he said.
He added that President Erdogan met with members of the Turkish-American community and met with Turkish and American businesspeople.
Defending the Palestinian cause
Fidan also raised Palestine and besieged Gaza, saying they urged Trump to broker a ceasefire in the blockaded enclave.
"We stated that a ceasefire in Gaza must be achieved immediately and that it is essential to deliver humanitarian aid to the region. We collectively emphasised that Israel's annexation of the West Bank is completely unacceptable and that we oppose any attempt to force the people of Gaza to flee their homeland," he said.
He said President Erdogan underlined the threats posed by Israel's occupation policies in the region and highlighted Ankara's role in defending Palestine.
"As Türkiye, we have either led, coordinated, or supported all meetings on Palestine. We have participated in all of them and, thankfully, defended the Palestinian cause in the strongest possible way," Fidan said.
Erdogan hailed the recognition of Palestine by many Western countries during the UN General Assembly as a highly significant development.
"This outcome is also a concrete outcome of the work we have been carrying out as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation-Arab League Joint Contact Group. We will continue to defend the just cause of the Palestinians at all times and on every platform," Fidan said.
