Satterfield: Turkey Must Meet Debt Payments to US Pharmaceutical Firms

FILE PHOTO: Acting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, prepares ahead of his address to the 11th Annual International Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
FILE PHOTO: Acting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, prepares ahead of his address to the 11th Annual International Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Satterfield: Turkey Must Meet Debt Payments to US Pharmaceutical Firms

FILE PHOTO: Acting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, prepares ahead of his address to the 11th Annual International Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
FILE PHOTO: Acting US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, prepares ahead of his address to the 11th Annual International Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

US ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield said on Wednesday companies will consider abandoning Turkish market if it fails to fully meet debt payments to US pharmaceutical firms.

Addressing a trade conference streamed online, Satterfield said debts owed by government hospitals to pharmaceutical companies in the US and elsewhere had risen to around $2.3 billion from some $230 million a year ago.

Satterfield said US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had raised the issue with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak a year ago and was assured that arrangements would be made for prompt payment.

A year later those companies were being asked to accept significant reductions in the amounts owed, Satterfield said, adding there will be consequences for non-payment of debt or reductions in payment, Reuters reported.

“Companies will consider departing the Turkish market or will reduce exposure to Turkish market. This is not a direction which serves the interests of Turkey,” he said.

Bilateral trade amounted to some $21 billion last year and the NATO allies have said they aim to lift that to $100 billion.

Yet there are hurdles including US tariffs on Turkish steel, and Ankara’s purchase of Russian missile defenses last year that prompted Washington to oust Turkey from a consortium producing F-35 jets.

At Tuesday’s conference hosted by the US-Turkey Business Council, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said the steel tariffs and the removal of Turkey from a US trade preference program have damaged efforts to reach the trade goal.

“Such policies by the US severely limit Turkish firms’ ability to enter the US market,” she said.



Top Trump Iran Negotiator Says Visits US Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
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Top Trump Iran Negotiator Says Visits US Aircraft Carrier in Middle East

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff delivers a press conference upon the signing of the declaration on deploying post-ceasefire force in Ukraine, during the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump's lead Iran negotiator Steve Witkoff on Saturday said he visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier currently in the Arabian Sea, with Washington and Tehran due to hold further talks soon.

"Today, Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, Jared Kushner, and I met with the brave sailors and Marines aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, her strike group, and Carrier Air Wing 9 who are keeping us safe and upholding President Trump's message of peace through strength," said Witkoff in a social media post.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday he hoped talks with the United States would resume soon, while reiterating Tehran's red lines and warning against any American attack.


Israel’s Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Expected to Meet Trump in US on Wednesday and Discuss Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a special session to mark the 77th anniversary of the Knesset's establishment and the 60th anniversary of the dedication of the current building at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 02 February 2026. (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Washington, where they will discuss negotiations with Iran, Netanyahu's office said on Saturday.

Iranian and US officials held indirect nuclear ‌talks in the ‌Omani capital ‌Muscat ⁠on Friday. ‌Both sides said more talks were expected to be held again soon.

A regional diplomat briefed by Tehran on the talks told Reuters Iran insisted ⁠on its "right to enrich uranium" ‌during the negotiations with ‍the US, ‍and that Tehran's missile capabilities ‍were not raised in the discussions.

Iranian officials have ruled out putting Iran's missiles - one of the largest such arsenals in the region - up ⁠for discussion, and have said Tehran wants recognition of its right to enrich uranium.

"The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and halting support for the Iranian axis," Netanyahu's office said in a ‌statement.


Italy FM Rules Out Joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
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Italy FM Rules Out Joining Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)
Italy's Minister for Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani speaks to the press during the EPP Leaders’ meeting, in Zagreb, Croatia, 30 January 2026. (EPA)

Italy will not take part in US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace", Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Saturday, citing "insurmountable" constitutional issues.

Trump launched his "Board of Peace" at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January and some 19 countries have signed its founding charter.

But Italy's constitution bars the country from joining an organization led by a single foreign leader.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally, last month noted "constitutional problems" with joining, but suggested Trump could perhaps reopen the framework "to meet the needs not only of Italy, but also of other European countries".

Tajani appeared Saturday to rule that out.

"We cannot participate in the Board of Peace because there is a constitutional limit," he told the ANSA news agency.

"This is insurmountable from a legal standpoint," he said, the day after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Vice President JD Vance at the Olympics in Milan.

Although originally meant to oversee Gaza's rebuilding, the board's charter does not limit its role to the Palestinian territory and appears to want to rival the United Nations.