Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone with Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar to discuss our shared goal of increasing longstanding defense ties. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ recognition of Turkey’s military modernization needs. He also thanked Turkey for hosting a DoD team in Ankara this week to begin dispute resolution discussions to address outstanding issues resulting from Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program, which was finalized on September 23.