U.S.-Turkey ties now have significant momentum, Senator Murphy says

21/2/2024 19:12

        There is significant momentum in relations between the United States and Turkey upon which the two NATO allies can capitalise, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said on Wednesday during a visit to Turkey following its approval of Sweden's NATO membership bid.
        
        Ties between them have long been strained by issues ranging from Turkey's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems to U.S. support for a Kurdish militia in Syria that Ankara regards as a terrorist group, and various human rights issues.
        
        "You definitely feel some real new, purposeful, good feeling in the relationship, and we very much felt that in all of our meetings yesterday," Murphy told Reuters in an interview in Istanbul after talks in the capital Ankara with Turkish leaders.
        
        Last week, President Tayyip Erdogan himself spoke of a positive trend in relations between the two NATO allies, with the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey going ahead after it ratified Sweden's NATO accession following 20 months of delay.