Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Brussels, Belgium

NATO Headquarters

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, it’s a pleasure to be with my friend and colleague, Foreign Minister Fidan.  We had very, very good consultations and conversations when I was in Ankara just a couple weeks ago.  I’m very much looking forward today to pursuing those.  We obviously have the crisis in Gaza that we are all working to contend with.  We have questions here at NATO as we track toward the summit next June, the 75th anniversary, including Sweden’s accession.  We have the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, among many other issues.  And I am grateful for the opportunity to share perspectives on all of these issues, grateful for the collaboration that we have with Türkiye – a critical, very valued NATO Ally.  So Hakan, good to see you.

FOREIGN MINISTER FIDAN:  Thank you.  Good morning, all.  As Tony said, we are here today to attend the NATO Ministerial Meeting, and we have very important subjects on our plate, and I am sure we will  have very frank and open discussions, and we really value our friendship and cooperation.  And thank you very much, Tony.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.