* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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US President Joe Biden and President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Rome, the capital of Italy, on the margins of the G20 Summit yesterday (October 31).
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken were also present at the meeting.
In the statement released by the White House afterwards, it was said, "President Biden underscored his desire to maintain constructive relations, expand areas of cooperation, and manage our disagreements effectively. He expressed appreciation for Turkey's nearly two decades of contributions to the NATO mission in Afghanistan."
'Concerns over S-400s expressed'
According to the White House statement, "the leaders discussed the political process in Syria, the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghans in need, elections in Libya, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, and diplomatic efforts in the South Caucasus."
The statement further noted, "President Biden reaffirmed our defense partnership and Turkey's importance as a NATO Ally, but noted U.S. concerns over Turkey's possession of the Russian S-400 missile system. He also emphasized the importance of strong democratic institutions, respect for human rights, and the rule of law for peace and prosperity."
'They agreed on forming a joint mechanism'
The Presidency's Communications Directorate also released a statement about the Biden-Erdoğan meeting in Rome. The statement read:
"Held in a positive atmosphere, the meeting addressed bilateral relations and regional issues. Expressing a common will for the further strengthening and advancing of the Turkey-U.S. relations, the two leaders, to this end, agreed on forming a joint mechanism.
"Mutual steps to be taken in line with the shared perspective on increasing the bilateral trade volume were discussed, and the basis of strategic partnership and NATO alliance was underscored.
"The pleasure over the steps taken mutually regarding climate change was also voiced at the meeting."
Biden's 'positive attitude regarding F-16s'
As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), President Erdoğan also addressed the reporters about the meeting.
"The issue of modernizing the F-16 [fighter jets] we have or giving new F-16s came to the fore (during the meeting with Biden). Our defense ministers are following the process," Erdoğan told reporters.
US President Joe Biden showed a "positive attitude" about the sale of the F-16 fighter jets, said Erdoğan during the press conference.
US-Turkey relations and fighter jet purchases
The relations between Turkey and the US have been especially tense over the past five years on a series of subjects such as disagreements over Syria, close relations between Turkey and Russia, activities in the Mediterranean, the Halkbank case in the US, the crisis over the imprisonment of Pastor Branson and the US' warnings about rights and freedoms in Turkey.
When Reuters reported that Turkey would buy new F-16s, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "This is something related to the issue of F-35s. We made a payment of 1 billion 400 million dollars for F-35s. And the US made us such an offer in exchange for these payments."
The US State Department announced that Turkey wanted to purchase F-16s and the US did not offer any funding to Turkey about the payment.
After Turkey's purchase of the S-400 defense missile system from Russia, the US excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet project. Before being excluded from the program, Turkey was planning to buy 100 F-35s.
11 lawmakers from the US House of Representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, have recently sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and urged the Biden Administration to not sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey amid recent reports of sale. (RT/SD)
