Biden, Erdogan hold first bilateral meeting amid unresolved rifts

US President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have held their first face-to-face meeting amid a history of soured ties over a host of controversial issues that have remained unresolved.

Both leaders have expressed satisfaction with their talks.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the NATO summit at the headquarters of the Western military alliance in Brussels on Monday amid strained relations between Washington and Ankara.

Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Biden said, “We had a positive and productive meeting, much of it one-on-one."

"Our teams are going to continue our discussions and I'm confident we'll make real progress with Turkey and the United States," he added.

Similarly, Erdogan called his talks with Biden "productive and sincere," noting that “there is a strong will to start an efficient cooperation period based on mutual respect in every area.”

"We think that there are no issues between US and Turkey relationship that are unsolvable and that areas of cooperation for us are richer and larger than problems," he emphasized

Ties between the two countries have fractured on a number of issues such as Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which the US State Department regards as “incompatible” with Ankara’s position as a NATO ally. 

The deal prompted Washington to impose sanctions on Turkey and oust Ankara from an F-35 production program, including a Turkish order to buy jets.

"At a meeting held in this location, it is not possible for the S-400s not to be brought up," Erdogan said. "Whatever our previous thoughts were on the S-400s, I conveyed those same thoughts to President Biden."

Back in April, Biden became the first US president to name the alleged 1915 massacre of Armenians by the former Ottoman Empire “genocide,” a redline for Turkey which disputes its responsibility for the atrocities. 

The decision outraged and drew sharp rebukes from Turkish leaders.

Ahead of Biden meeting, Erdogan warns US could lose 'reliable partner by cornering Turkey'

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns US against "cornering" Turkey.

Turkey and the US are also at odds over the latter’s support for Syria Kurdish militants deemed terrorists by Ankara.

Erdogan said Turkey clearly stated at the NATO summit that the support given to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), should be ended.

There is a distorted understanding that classifies “good terrorists” and “bad terrorists,” he added. “It is clear that such an ambivalent attitude will not end terrorism. On the contrary, it will encourage terrorist organizations.”

The Turkish president further announced that he had invited Biden to visit Turkey.

“We evaluated the steps that can be taken to fully realize the economic potential between us, taking into account the new opportunities that will arise after the [coronavirus] pandemic,” he said.

Another thorny issue between Ankara and Washington is the US-based opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of having orchestrated the July 2016 coup attempt against Erdogan. Turkish officials have been demanding Gulen’s extradition, but so far, the US government has refused to do so.

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