Turkish Foreign Minister to Meet with Blinken in Washington

Turkey and the U.S. will seek to iron out differences between NATO allies when Turkey’s foreign minister visits Washington this week.

There is little hope, however, that outstanding issues will be resolved.

Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet Wednesday with his U.S. counterpart Anthony Blinken in a rare visit by Turkey’s leadership.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is distancing itself from Turkey because of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian course and policies limiting rights and freedoms.

Located at the crossroads between East and West, Turkey remains strategically important to Washington.

Last year, an agreement between Russia and Ukraine was brokered by the Turkish government, allowing millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to reach world markets, avoiding a food crisis amid a war.

NATO members often disagree on a number of issues. The most serious disputes relate to Turkey’s purchase of Russian-made missiles and U.S. support for Kurdish militias in Syria.