US Naval diplomacy reaches Turkiye

The US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier arrived in Antalya several days before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Al Monitor reports.

According to the report, US Ambassador to Turkiye, Jeff Flake, hosted Selcuk Bayraktar, CEO of Turkiye’s home-grown drone manufacturer, Baykar, and son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on board the “USS Gerald R. Ford” during a combined demonstration with the Turkish Navy flagship, “TCG Anadolu” last week.

The Ford also linked up with a bevy of Turkish warships, F-16s, KC-135 refuelling tankers and P-72s last week, before the US carrier anchored off Antalya, where it “will again host local officials and military leaders for a dinner to celebrate the strong, extensive alliance between the US and Turkiye,” the US Navy said Friday.

A member of the Ford’s Carrier Strike Group, the guided-missile cruiser “USS Normandy”, headed for port at the Aksaz Naval Base in Marmaris on Saturday, after nearly a month of training alongside the Turkish Navy. The exercises included air defence and anti-submarine warfare drills, the US Navy said.

READ: Turkiye drone-maker head visits US’s largest aircraft carrier