Pence, Turkish PM discuss Middle East situation

Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday “to reaffirm the enduring strategic partnership between the United States and Turkey,” the Office of the Vice President announced.
The two “expressed hope that their meeting would help to usher in a new chapter in US-Turkey relations, and agreed on the need for constructive dialogue, as friends and allies, on bilateral challenges,” the announcement said.
They highlighted the United States’ and Turkey’s mutual interest in stability and security in the Middle East, and agreed to further intergovernmental consultations toward that end, it said.
Pence “also thanked the Prime Minister for Turkey’s contributions to global security and the fight to defeat ISIS, and he underscored the US commitment to stand with Turkey against the PKK and other terrorist threats,” the statement said, referring to the so-called Islamic State and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
Pence “expressed deep concern over the arrests of American citizens, Mission Turkey local staff, journalists and members of civil society under the state of emergency, and urged transparency and due process in the resolution of their cases,” it said.