Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who was in the USA within the scope of the 77th General Assembly meetings of the United Nations (UN), went to Los Angeles after completing his contacts in New York. Çavuşoğlu met with the Turkish community at the official residence of the Turkish Consulate General in Los Angeles. Making statements on the agenda here, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey followed an intense foreign policy. Stating that protecting Turkey’s interests is a priority within this intense foreign policy, Çavuşoğlu said, “We strive to protect our interests wherever they are in the world and to minimize the impact of the crises on Turkey. Of course, when you look at Syria, Libya, Cyprus, everywhere in the Aegean, 60 percent of the conflicts in the world are around us. We mean countries such as Afghanistan and Yemen in our immediate region and in the second circle that affects us as well. Therefore, we need to protect our rights and our law.” Çavuşoğlu stated that they also maintain an active foreign policy in the resolution of conflicts, and said:
“The role we played in the grain crisis has brought relief to the world. For the first time since 2008, grain prices have dropped drastically. We saw in New York that the issue of grain is of prime importance for everyone, from the richest to the poorest. The leader and speaker thanked Turkey. We are working with the UN in our coordination center in Istanbul to remove the obstacles in front of us on fertilizers. Both countries (Russia and Ukraine) have delegations. We have found some solutions, and the Russians do not have these products on the sanction list. We are working to eliminate the current hesitations about insurance, service and especially payment issues for our company.”
“The main goal of our President is to bring together Mr. Putin and Zelensky”
Stating that Turkey is making efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, Çavuşoğlu underlined that although the parties moved away from a solution, they did not lose their hope. Minister Çavuşoğlu said, “The main goal of our President is to bring together Mr. Putin and Zelenskiy. For this, we need to take confidence-building steps to resolve this political process. We played an important role in the last prisoner exchange.” said. Stating that one of the priorities of foreign policy is not to leave citizens and compatriots living abroad alone, Çavuşoğlu noted that they diversified and facilitated consular services and strengthened physical infrastructure. Stating that all citizens are first class citizens for them, Çavuşoğlu said, “What brings us together? Turkey is rich in this wealth. Our beautiful country is Turkey and our flag. Therefore, when it comes to our flag and Turkey, we all act and must act together. also.” he said. Referring to the normalization process with Israel and Armenia, Çavuşoğlu said, “For lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus, this comprehensive peace agreement proposed by Azerbaijan should be signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan as soon as possible. We support this process.” said.
“Armenia needs peace and this cooperation in the region”
Çavuşoğlu stated that they appointed special representatives to normalize relations with Armenia, but that they could not take more courageous steps due to the pressures on Armenia, and continued his words as follows: “Armenia should be encouraged. Unfortunately, maybe they are few in number, but they are a group that has a loud voice in America. The Armenian group is against this normalization, against the normalization with Turkey. They have no contribution to Armenia. They act on hatred and Armenia needs peace and this cooperation in the region. It is a country that has lived in isolation until now for obvious reasons. It also needs to be well evaluated.”
“Unfortunately, the USA still supports PKK/PYD in Syria”
Pointing out that the relations with the USA have a deep-rooted history, Çavuşoğlu said, “When we set our target of 100 billion dollars trade volume, it was a dream for many, but when we look at our instant trade volume, the USA is the country to which we export the most, and it took a very long time to reach this target. We can reach it in 7-8 years.” shared his opinion. Stating that there are also problems in relations with the USA, Çavuşoğlu said, “Unfortunately, the USA still supports the PKK/PYD in Syria. And they actually support their separatist agenda, but this terrorist organization has also increased its attacks recently. The presence of FETO here, on the other hand, CAATSA. Sanctions are also issues that bother us. In fact, these are all matters of national security for us, we expect sensitivity from our ally the United States, we expect them to understand our sensitivities.” he said. Stating that he discussed all the problems with his US counterpart Antony Blinken in New York, and they also discussed visa negotiations and regional issues, Çavuşoğlu noted that the last meeting of the strategic mechanism was held in Washington before the UN General Assembly meetings.
“If the EU had not excluded us, it would have been applauded all over the world today”
Çavuşoğlu continued: “(USA-Turkey) As a result, it is in the interests of both countries that we reduce or eliminate the problems experienced in these relations and increase cooperation. When we look at our foreign policy areas, when we look at America’s priorities, Turkey is not one of the most important actors in America’s priority areas, but the most important actor. Therefore, America should not ignore the importance of Turkey in this sense by saying ‘thank you’ and saying ‘thank you’. We say this to the European Union (EU). But this narrow vision, political interests and the fact that a small country is a prisoner of countries prevent the EU from being a global actor. The EU cannot find a solution to any problem. However, if he works with us and gets rid of these prejudices, he can achieve this.”
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