TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (MNA) – In a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu urged Washington to lift sanctions against Ankara in the defense industry field.

In the joint press conference, the Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said finalizing the F-16 fighter jet sale deal is beneficial for both sides, Anadolu Agency reported. 

He noted that the fight against terrorism is a priority item on the mutual agenda, and further urged to have more effective cooperation and collaboration in the field of security.

Asked about the alleged US support for adversary groups in Syria, Cavusoglu called on his US counterpart to fight against any kind of terrorism and terror group together.

Asked about bilateral ties, Cavusoglu said the two countries should not wait for another disaster to improve ties and urged to take concrete and sincere steps to improve the Türkiye-US relations.

For his part, Blinken expressed his country's commitment to providing support to earthquake-hit Turkey.

On the F-16 deal, Blinken said it is the "national interest and security interest" for the Biden administration to both upgrade existing F-16s and provide new ones to Turkey.

Blinken also responded to the question on the US support to the YPG and SDF militia groups in Syria and said his country "very much recognizes" Turkey's legitimate security concerns on its southern border.

MNA