Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Erdogan says he and Biden must leave troubles behind at NATO meeting

Published 13/06/2021, 13:14
Updated 14/06/2021, 06:40
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS

By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Jonathan Spicer

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he and U.S. President Joe Biden must use a meeting on Monday (NASDAQ:MNDY) to move on from past troubles, including a bitter dispute over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missiles.

Before travelling to Monday's NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan said he expected an "unconditional approach" from Washington when he sat down with Biden for their first face-to-face session since last year's U.S. elections.

He said he would also raise the White House's recognition of the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the then Ottoman Empire as "genocide", a move which had infuriated Ankara, and the U.S. removal of Turkey from an F-35 fighter jet programme.

The Turkish president, who relied on a close personal relationship with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump to iron out past crises, has been frustrated by the more critical and distanced approach from the new U.S. administration.

Erdogan had to wait three months after Biden's inauguration for their first contact, an awkward phone call in April when the U.S. president informed him of the genocide-recognition plan.

"We need to put Turkey-U.S. ties on the table first-hand," Erdogan told reporters at Istanbul's airport on Sunday.

"There was a lot of gossip internally and externally, so we need to talk about how we can leave these troubles behind, what we can do and what we will do. Turkey is not just any country - it is an allied country."

"UNCONDITIONAL APPROACH"

The cooler ties between the two NATO members underline an array of disputes including over U.S. support for Syrian fighters deemed terrorists by Turkey and more vocal U.S. criticism of Ankara's human rights record.

"An ally country taking such a stance on an issue that has nothing to do with NATO, the issue of Armenians, has disturbed and upset us. It is not possible to go on without reminding (Biden of) this," Erdogan said.

Turkey accepts that many Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Ottoman forces in World War One, but denies the killings were systematically orchestrated and constitute genocide.

The United States cancelled the sale of 100 F-35s to Ankara after the S-400 purchase in 2019. Erdogan has accused Washington of breaking promises over the alternative U.S. Patriot missiles.

"Unfortunately there is a Turkey that has realised its promises and a United States that has not kept its (promises) or abided by the contract," Erdogan said of the programme.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS

"We must see an unconditional approach from the United States, without any 'buts', that will add to the cooperation and strength of NATO," he added.

Washington says the Russian S-400s are incompatible with NATO defences and the F-35 fighter jets, concerns Ankara has rejected.

Latest comments

End the dictatorship on the Bosporus!
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.