Saturday, August 28, 2021

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Phone Call With Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar

 Aug. 27, 2021


Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar to thank Turkey for its longstanding and significant support to the mission at Hamid Karzai International Airport.  They agreed to stay closely engaged with respect to any future arrangements at the airport.  The Secretary thanked Minister Akar for his condolences for the U.S. service members lost in yesterday’s attack in Kabul. The Secretary reaffirmed the enduring U.S.-Turkey defense relationship as demonstrated most recently by the strong cooperation between both countries on Afghanistan.