Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar to discuss ongoing bilateral cooperation between the United States and Türkiye. The leaders also discussed the importance of mitigating civilian harm in Syria, ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS, and their shared concern over the potential risks to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s reckless behavior. Secretary Austin also thanked Minister Akar for Türkiye’s assistance in restarting critical shipments of Ukrainian grain to the world.