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Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Fuat Oktay said Ankara received a "positive approach" from both chambers of the U.S. Congress on KAAN fighter jet engines and the potential lifting of sanctions, following what he described as "extremely productive" meetings with key American lawmakers.
Oktay, leading a Turkish parliamentary delegation to Washington, met with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch on Friday.
Speaking to Turkish journalists after the meetings, Oktay highlighted progress on the KAAN engine issue as a priority topic.
"One of the topics we wanted to focus on was the KAAN engines dimension. As far as we could see, we received a more positive approach from both sides. Both sides said they would follow up closely," Oktay stated.
"Our ambassadors are here, and our ministries are also closely following up on this issue at the government level. We hope that we will resolve this issue soon with a more positive approach—we think it will be resolved," he added.
Oktay also noted an encouraging atmosphere regarding U.S. sanctions on Türkiye, including those under CAATSA and the National Defense Authorization Act.
"Beyond that, there were some sanctions related to CAATSA and what we call the NDAA budget dimension. We actually see a positive environment regarding perhaps leaving those behind as well," Oktay said.
"Our contacts at the government level and at the heads of state level, as well as our contacts at the congressional level on this issue—all of us as commission members felt that there could be an atmosphere of perhaps leaving this behind in a softer way," he added.
Oktay described the congressional meetings as highly focused and results-oriented.
"Today, as the Turkish Grand National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee, we have been in the U.S. and in Congress for several days. We met with the Foreign Affairs Committee chairmen in both the Senate and the House of Representatives," Oktay said.
"It was an extremely productive meeting. It was an extremely concentrated meeting. We were completely focused on the issues, and we were happy to see that there is a positive agenda and a positive approach regarding Türkiye," he added.
The meetings covered a wide range of regional topics, including Syria, Gaza peace efforts, the Russia-Ukraine war and developments along the Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor.
"As you know, we see extremely positive relations at the level of both heads of state — between our President and Trump—reflected at the government level. Therefore, we wanted to bring this positive agenda to Congress," Oktay said.
"We are already working together in Syria. We are working together on all other issues in the region, and there are efforts we are conducting together within the framework of peace negotiations in Gaza," he noted.
"Similarly, there is work on the corridor between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and of course, the Russia and Ukraine dimension," he added.
Oktay emphasized that Türkiye's growing defense industry and economic capacity have strengthened its foreign policy position.
"Türkiye being a regional power and having a say in global issues, and the effectiveness of our President's leader diplomacy here, and the reflections of Türkiye's developments both economically and especially in the defense industry on foreign policy—we saw this clearly here," Oktay stated.
"Not just in the Middle East dimension, not just developments in neighboring regions, but beyond that, including developments in Europe and Asia—many areas have emerged where we can act together," he added.
Oktay said the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman indicated he may visit Türkiye with his delegation this year.
"As a result of our meetings, there was feedback that just came to us. The House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, together with his delegation, will possibly visit Türkiye this year," Oktay noted.
"Therefore, it was beneficial to find ourselves in agreement on establishing much closer contact. Today's meetings were extremely beneficial for Türkiye," he added.
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