PM call with President of T眉rkiye: 7 July 2023
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the President of T眉rkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an, this afternoon.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to the President of T眉rkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an, this afternoon. He reiterated the importance of the UK-T眉rkiye relationship, with close and growing ties in trade, investment and defence.
President聽Erdo臒an聽updated on President Zelenskyy鈥檚 planned visit to Istanbul today and the Prime Minister welcomed T眉rkiye鈥檚 role in challenging Russian aggression and continuing to uphold聽the vital Black Sea Grain Initiative.
Looking ahead to next week鈥檚 NATO Summit, the Prime Minister looked forward to working with President聽Erdo臒an to聽address shared challenges and ensure NATO聽remains strong and agile in defending our collective security.
He underlined the significant benefits of Sweden joining NATO and the progress they have made in addressing T眉rkiye鈥檚 legitimate security concerns and hoped the聽alliance could proceed with ratifying their accession as soon as possible.
The Prime Minister also highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration on tackling illegal migration, an issue which affects both our countries. The UK would welcome efforts to further strengthen our cooperation on tackling criminal people smuggling聽gangs and returns.