President Joe Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 on Sunday, a senior White House official announced Saturday night.
Erdogan had threatened to expel 10 foreign ambassadors including those from the U.S. but he backed down after calling them “persona non grata” for a statement they made in support Osman Kavala (prisoner for philanthropist and philanthropist).
According to a senior official, ‘I’m not sure that we would have had the meeting had he gone ahead and expelled’. He said this to reporters in Rome on Saturday night. “Certainly, the president will indicate that there is a way to avoid crises such as that one moving forward.
President Joe Biden (left) shakes the hand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (right) as the G20 leaders meet for the first time in-person in two years. Standing in the middle is Democratic Republic of Congo’s President and African Union Chair Felix Tshisekedi
Pictured as they arrive at the G20 in Rome on Saturday, President Joe Biden (right), Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdan (left).
The official stated that “precipitous action isn’t going to benefit U.S.-Turkey alliance partnership and alliance,”
Kavala, who has been in prison since 2017, was accused of conspiring to spy on the Turkish government and organize protests in 2013. He also helped plan a coup attempt in 2016, which resulted in 250 deaths.
Kavala denied the charges
Upon arrival at La Nuvola, ‘the cloud,’ in Rome on Saturday, where G20 leaders participated in their first in-person meeting in two years, Biden warmly greeted Erdogan, before the principles posed for their so-called ‘family picture.’
Biden was originally scheduled to meet Erdogan at COP26, a United Nations climate summit in Glasgow (Scotland), where he will be traveling next.
At the Sunday morning meeting, Biden will also discuss Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 fighter jets, its defense relationship with the United States as well as a range of regional issues such as Syria and Libya.
Lawmakers have asked the Biden administration not sell F-16s Turkey. They threatened to block any exports of F-16s, claiming that Turkey had purchased Russian missile defence systems and behaved like an opponent.
Reuters reported earlier this year that Turkey requested the U.S. to purchase 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16s as well as nearly 80 modernization kits to its existing warplanes.