US secretary of state meets Turkish counterpart on detained US citizens, ties

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu here on Tuesday to discuss Turkey's detention of US citizens and bilateral ties, said the US State Department.

Pompeo restated his concerns regarding Turkey's "detention of US citizens and locally employed staff," according to a statement released by the department.

The two also agreed on the need to work together to de-escalate the conflict in Syria, said the statement.

The US-Turkey ties are undergoing a recovery process after a dispute over Turkey's detention and trial on terrorism charges of US pastor Andrew Brunson, who was released by Turkey last month.

Ankara and Washington also simultaneously announced the decision to remove sanctions on each other's ministers earlier this month, two weeks following Brunson's release.

Pompeo's meeting with Cavusoglu also took place amid ongoing investigation of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was killed last month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.