A meeting between United States President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later this month is under discussion, a senior Turkish official said Friday, with Türkiye-Russia relations, U.S. weapons and conflicts in Ukraine and Syria on the agenda.
Erdoğan is expected to visit Washington later in September, according to the official.
Biden and Erdoğan last met in late June on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid, where Türkiye lifted its veto on Finland and Sweden joining the pact.
At the end of that summit, Biden said the United States supported the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye and was confident the congressional approval needed for sale could be obtained.
"After the last meeting with Biden, the U.S. administration took steps as we demanded on some important issues such as the F-16s. I think there will be similar things," the senior Turkish official said.
Discussions between the two leaders would include the war in Ukraine, relations between Türkiye and Russia, and the Ukraine grain export deal, the Turkish official said.
The two countries are at odds over U.S. support for the Syrian extension of the PKK terrorist organization, the YPG.
"A new page can be opened in Syria now, and the United States needs to take steps in this context. Likewise, the YPG threat needs to be well evaluated. Some U.S. officials are aware of this," the official said.
Relations between Türkiye and Greece, which have led to chronically strained relations in the Eastern Mediterranean, are also likely to come up for discussion, the official said.
