Biden to Warn Erdogan against 'Precipitous' Actions
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Ahead of the upcoming meeting between the US and Turkish presidents tomorrow, a US official says Biden will warn Erdogan that any reckless actions will not benefit US-Turkish relations.
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A podium at the Congress Center in Rome where the G20 Summit will be held on October 30, 2021 (AFP).
A US official announced today, Saturday, that US President Joe Biden will warn Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Rome between the two, on Sunday, on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Biden will also discuss Turkey's proposal to buy F-16V fighter jets, the country's defense cooperation with the US, and a variety of regional crises like Syria and Libya.
The official told reporters that "certainly the president will indicate that we need to find a way to avoid crises like that one going forward and precipitous action is not going to benefit the US-Turkey partnership and alliance."
Will the US deliver F-16Vs to Turkey?
Considering that Turkey had purchased Russian missile defense systems, namely the S-400, and "behaved like an adversary", US legislators have asked the Biden administration not to sell F-16s to Turkey and have vowed to veto any such deliveries.
It is noteworthy that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan retracted a few days ago the expulsion of ten Western ambassadors, including the Ambassador of the United States. Relations between the Turkish and US presidents are still sore due to Ankara's acquisition of a Russian defense system.
Erdogan confirmed his country's intention to buy a second S-400
Recently, Erdogan confirmed that his country still intends to buy a second batch of the Russian S-400 missile defense system despite US sanctions, noting that the US President "never raised the issue of Turkey's human rights record."
Washington repeatedly announced that the S-400 air defense system poses a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO's broader defense systems.
