‘I have never been in such a position with a US leader before’

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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Having returned from the US, where he had paid a visit to attend the 76th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the reporters following the Friday prayers.

Referring to the Turkey-US relations, Erdoğan said that "as two NATO countries, Turkey and the US should be in a very different position."

"If we are not in the expected position, this needs to be expressed as well. I have never been in such a position with a US leader before, but this is unfortunately our situation now," Erdoğan added.

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Erdoğan moved on to accuse the US of "supporting terrorist organizations, beyond expectation'', adding that ''instead of fighting terror groups, the US provides them with a considerable amount of weapons, tools and vehicles."

Responding to a question on his upcoming meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, he said that his expectation from him is "very different." 

"The regime in Syria poses a threat in the south of Turkey. So, as a friend to Russia, I expect from Putin and Russia a different approach as a requirement of solidarity," President and AKP Chair Erdoğan said, adding, "We need to fight this together in the south."

The US is not interested in Syria these days, he said, noting that Russia, Iran, and Turkey "should discuss ways to create a peace zone in Syria."

'We didn't have a good start with Biden'

Speaking in New York yesterday (September 23), Erdoğan commented on the relations with the US and President Joe Biden.

Referring to Turkey-US relations, Erdoğan said that "the current point of relations is unfortunately not good," adding, "I worked well with President Bush Jr., I worked well with Mr. Obama, I worked well with Mr. Trump. But I cannot say that we had a good start with Mr. Biden." He indicated that "the state of affairs" between Turkey and the US "doesn't bode well." (DŞ/SD)