Readout of Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan’s Meeting with Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar

Acting Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Charles E. Summers Jr. provided the following readout:

Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan met with Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the defense relationship between the United States and Turkey. Also in attendance were Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kiliç, and Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Gen. Yaşar Güler.

The leaders discussed a broad range of defense issues, including operations to defeat ISIS in Syria and the United States’ concern with Turkey’s potential purchase of the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system. They agreed to continue cooperating to achieve stability and security in northeast Syria. 

Secretary Shanahan acknowledged the U.S.-Turkey bilateral relationship is “foundational to regional security” and thanked Minister Akar for Turkey’s commitment and support to the NATO alliance in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq and NATO maritime activities.