WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The two leaders also agreed to continue bilateral defense activities, consultations, and find new ways to increase defense cooperation between the United States and Turkey in the future.
"Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Isik yesterday on the margins of the NATO Defense Ministerial in Brussels, Belgium," the release stated. "Secretary Mattis assured Minister Isik of the support of the United States as a strategic partner in the counter-ISIS [Daesh] campaign."
Mattis also noted Turkey’s contributions to the NATO alliance and a transparent dialogue when it comes to significant threats facing Turkey both within and outside of its borders.
Recently, the Sea Shield 2017 maritime drills with the participation of seven NATO member states and Ukraine were held in the Black Sea. The drills took place on the territory of 80,000 square kilometers (49,700 square miles). Approximately 2,800 personnel from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, the United States, Canada, Spain and Ukraine, 16 warships and 10 warplanes will participate in the 10-day exercises.
NATO has been increasing its military presence in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea since the outbreak of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine in April 2014, in response to what it considers to be Russia's aggressive foreign policy. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed the Ukraine-related accusations leveled at it, warning that increased NATO activities near the country's borders could undermine regional and global stability.
