Blinken to Meet Cavusoglu Today Amid Turkey’s objection to Sweden And Finland's NATO Bids

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet Wednesday in New York with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu — the latest efforts in the process of clarifying ties between the two NATO allies amid Ankara's recent mixed statements on Sweden and Finland's NATO Bids, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

Turkey's strong backing of Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion has offered an opportunity to reset Washington-Ankara  relations, albeit many experts in the U.S. capital have seen relations strained over president Erdogan's government's ties with Vladimir Putin as well as Ankara's refusal to comply with sanctions against Russia.

In New York today, the Turkish diplomat will likely face tough questions to clarify when it comes to Ankara's efforts to veto bids by Finland and Sweden to join the Atlantic alliance.

“It is not up to me to characterize what the Turkish government’s position is,” State Department's spokesperson Ned Price said when pressed by reporters yesterday about whether Turkey had demanded anything from the United States in return for agreeing to Finland’s and Sweden’s memberships.

Asked by TURAN's correspondent what the U.S. clearly understands Turkey’s position to be, Price referred to public statements made by Turkish officials.

Ankara on Monday doubled down on its criticism of Finland and Sweden, accusing them of supporting Kurdish militants and others whom Turkey considers to be terrorists and of imposing restrictions on military sales to Turkey.

Blinken and Cavusoglu's today's meeting has been scheduled for 1:30 PM, New York time, according to the State Department.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.