Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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360. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade If he has spoken formally with his Turkish counterpart to date in 2022. [24388/22]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Turkey is an important player in relation to developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East more generally. In that context, I keep in quite regular engagement with my Turkish counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs Çavusoglu, to discuss issues currently before the UN Security Council as well as overall EU-Turkey relations. My most recent conversation with Foreign Minister Çavusoglu, and also the only formal contact so far this year, was when we spoke by phone on 13 April in order to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine where Turkey is seeking to play an important mediation role. 

My Department, including our Embassy in Ankara, also keeps in regular official contact with the Turkish government on a wide range of bilateral, EU and international issues, including the domestic situation in Turkey and important issues currently before the UN Security Council. I visited Turkey and met with Foreign Minister Çavusoglu early last year, primarily in relation to renewal of an important UN Security Council Resolution pertaining to the humanitarian situation in Syria. Senior official level consultations with Turkey also take place on a regular basis, with a further session at Deputy Secretary General level planned for later this month in Ankara.