Erdogan to Biden: No problem impossible to solve in Turkey-US relations

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told his US counterpart that no problems between Ankara and Washington are impossible to solve as the two leaders held their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office.

"We believe there is no problem that cannot be resolved in Turkey-US relations," Erdogan said on Monday after the one-on-one meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels that lasted for 45 minutes.

US President Biden said he had a "very good meeting" with President Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

President Erdogan said he held extensive "productive and sincere" talks with President Biden and discussed joint efforts on regional issues and economic potential with US.

The Turkish president also said he told his US counterpart that joint dialogue mechanisms are needed to be revived between the nations.

"We expressed same thoughts on S-400s to President (Biden) as we had before, also expressed same thoughts about F-35s," Erdogan said.

Turkey has also expressed hope that all NATO allies will show full solidarity with country by putting aside shallow political calculations, the Turkish president said, adding that Ankara also clearly expressed that support given to PYD/PKK terror group should be ended.

Biden said he and Erdogan had detailed discussions about how to proceed on a number of issues. 

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

READ MORE: Can Biden-Erdogan meeting break the diplomatic impasse on key issues?

Meetings with other leaders

Erdogan also met Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte earlier on Monday on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Brussels.

The two leaders met in a closed-door meeting.

Before Rutte, Erdogan met his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The NATO summit gathering heads of member states and governments began on Monday in Brussels.

Including Turkish President Erdogan, the leaders of 30 member countries were welcomed one-by-one by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meeting.

The leaders will discuss a wide range of issues, including the main themes of the NATO 2030 initiative: How to reinforce the alliance's unity, broaden its approach to security, and contribute to safeguarding the rules-based international order.

Turkey's role in bloc highlighted

Turkey is important for the "security and stability of Trans-Atlantic area," the country's president earlier said during the summit of NATO leaders.

"We, therefore, are cognisant of our important responsibility not only for our own national interests but also for the security and stability of the Trans-Atlantic area and take our steps accordingly with this understanding," President Erdogan said in a video message sent to the summit.

Underlining that "Turkey's borders are NATO's borders," he noted that Ankara was among the top five members of the alliance in terms of contributing to operations and missions and among the top eight in contributing to its common budget.

"In addition, Turkey is in charge of NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force this year in 2021," he added.

Turkey also has the second-largest army in the alliance, Erdogan said, asserting that his country "plays an active role in NATO's adaptation to current threats and challenges."

He also said that technological developments, demographic pressures, climate change, terrorism, irregular migration, and the coronavirus pandemic all presented new challenges.

"This situation inevitably affects our perception of security and stability, requiring us to approach these issues holistically," he said.

READ MORE: Erdogan: Turkey, US must leave troubles behind at NATO meeting

Underlining that Turkey is "doing its part as a reliable ally in the region and beyond," he said that country was implementing a "constrictive and active policy that takes the initiative in resolving problems in the field, emphasising the human dimension."

"We lead and contribute to all initiatives aimed at establishing stability, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from the Caucasus to the Balkans, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and Africa," he said.

In its interactions with its neighbours, Ankara takes into consideration international law, justice, and equality as well as respect for mutual rights and interests, Erdogan noted.

"I believe that the revitalisation of the channels of dialogue between us and our neighbour and ally, Greece, serves the stability and prosperity of our region, as well as the resolution of bilateral issues."

Erdogan argued that terrorism is currently one of the most significant obstacles to stability, with Turkey spearheading the fight against terrorism on all relevant international platforms, especially NATO.

"We're engaged in a heavy fight both inside and outside our borders against many terrorist organisations, ranging from the PKK/PYD to Daesh (ISIS) and FETO."

"We remain the only NATO ally engaged in close combat with Daesh, with our children being martyred at such young ages," he added.

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