On September27-29, 2018, President Erdoğan made a state visit to Germany and met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The leaders addressed bilateral cooperation in political, economic, security, defense, cultural and social areas and discussed several regional and global issues.
On November 22, 2018, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu hosted theTurkey-EU High Level Political Dialogue Meeting, attended by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations. During the joint press conference after the meeting, Minister Çavuşoğlu stated that all aspects of Turkey’s relations with the EU were discussed at the meeting.
On February 5, 2019, Turkish President Erdoğan and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met in Ankara. During the meeting, the leaders reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations between Turkey and Greece and discussed possible steps for the strengthening of cooperation between the two nations. Erdoğan and Tsipras also exchanged their views on regional and international developments.
On March13-15, 2019, Foreign Ministers Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Brussels to attend the 3rd Brussels Conference on Syria and Turkey — EU Association Council Meeting. The Association Council, the highest decision-making body of the Turkey — EU Association relations, held its 54th meeting after an interval of four years. Taking stock of the accession strategy, the Association Council discussed Turkey — EU bilateral relations under the Association Agreement and the Customs Union.
On June 3, 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received European Union Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, at Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul.
United States
On January 3, 2018, a jury in New York federal court found Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a former executive at Turkey’s majority state-owned Halkbank, guilty on charges that included bank fraud, conspiracies to evade U.S. sanctions against Iran and to commit money laundering. He was found not guilty on a money laundering charge. In a statement made after the verdict, counsel for Mehmet Hakan Atilla announced their intent to appeal. Mehmet Hakan Atilla’s sentencing, originally set for April 11, 2018, was first postponed to May 7, 2018 and then to May 16, 2018. On May 16, 2018, a New York judge sentenced Mehmet Hakan Atilla to 32 months in prison for his participation in a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran.
On February15-16, 2018, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made an official visit to Turkey and had several meetings with President Erdoğan and Minister Çavuşoğlu to discuss prominent issues in the public agendaof Turkey-U.S. relations. According to the joint statement released after the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to each other’s security and defense.
On June3-4, 2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington. During the meeting, the leadersdiscussed Turkey-U.S. bilateral relations, matters related to the presence of the PYD/YPG and the PKK terrorist groups in the Syrian city of Manbij and other regional matters. According to the joint statement released after the meeting, the ministers endorsed a road map and underlined their commitment to its implementation.
On July 25, 2018, American Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who had been held in detention in Turkey on charges of committing crimes including spying for the PKK terror group and FETÖ, was moved from prison to house arrest, in accordance with a Turkish court ruling. In response to the detention of Brunson, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Turkey’s Ministers of Justice and Interior. On August 3, 2018, President Erdoğan ordered authorities to freeze the assets of two U.S. officials in Turkey. On August 10, 2018, Donald Trump announced on Twitter a doubling of tariffs on steel and aluminum against Turkey. On October 12, 2018,
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