A second round of “slaps” by the US Erdogan, in the aftermath of Biden's meeting with the President of Turkey that took place in Rome, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
“The meeting covered a full range of regional and global issues. “And yes, it covered the issue of human rights, democracy and the rule of law,” said White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. “This is me as president, we will continue to put them in public, whatever friction they cause.”
In fact, Sullivan clarified that “NATO, as an alliance, should be largely designed and encouraged to make a deep commitment to the democratic traditions and values that underpin it from the beginning.”
However, he described the Biden-Erdogan meeting as “constructive and immediate” – adding: “We will continue to work in this direction. We will work on this with Turkey. “We will work on this with other NATO allies who are facing challenges in terms of democratic regression within them.”
It is noted that the White House statement, after the end of the meeting in Rome that lasted one hour and ten minutes, lied to the Turkish president, as he clarified that Biden raised the issue of the eastern Mediterranean in Rome – with the information that they want the president to emphasize the need to respect international law and to avoid moves that increase tensions in the region.
It is recalled that Erdogan initially denied that the issue was raised in Rome, to later claim that the two sides “agreed to cooperate”, without expanding.
For his part, President Biden told his Turkish counterpart about his recent request to buy 40 new generation F-16s, that approval for such a supply is required to go through Congress, as required by US law. He reminded that the S-400s that Turkey bought from Russia are a wider problem in the defense relations of the two countries, and not only for the Congress.
