Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his US counterpart Antony Blinken invited him to Washington for talks on May 18 amid recent efforts to improve relations between the countries.

Negotiations with Washington on Ankara's request to buy F-16 jets and upgrade kits are going well, he said, and Turkey welcomes reports that the US administration has sent a letter to Congress saying the sale is in the interests of the US and NATO. reports Bloomberg HT Turkish.

In October, Turkey submitted a request for the purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 upgrade kits for existing combat aircraft.

The US State Department, in a letter to Congress, said the Biden administration believes that a potential sale of fighter jets to Turkey would be in the interests of US national security, as well as serve NATO's long-term unity.

Relations between Ankara and Washington have long been strained over a number of issues, including Turkey's purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems and subsequent US sanctions on Turkey.

The US and Turkey launched a platform this week to improve and strengthen their strained relationship.