2 yıl önce

Erdogan to meet Biden on sidelines of COP26 summit in Glasgow

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Azerbaijan, the Turkish president said Turkey and the US will discuss purchase of F-35 fighter jets during the the COP26 climate summit in Scotland.

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"Ambassadors working in Turkey should know that Turkey is not a tribal state,” Erdogan said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will meet his US counterpart Joe Biden in Glasgow, Scotland during the COP26 climate summit, which starts this Sunday.

During the meeting, the issue of F-35 fighter jets will top the agenda, Erdogan told reporters on his flight returning back from a visit to Azerbaijan on Tuesday.

Turkey made $1.4 billion in payments for F-35 fighter jets, Erdogan pointed out, jets which the US never delivered.

"We need to discuss with them how this will be repaid to us," he said.

In 2019, Washington announced that it was taking Turkey out of the F-35 stealth fighter jet program over Ankara's purchase of the S-400 system.

Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400s would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat to the alliance or its armaments.

Ankara also repeatedly proposed setting up a commission to clarify the issue.

'Turkey is not a tribal state'

When asked about US media claims that Erdogan walked back from the expulsion of 10 ambassadors, the president said: “How did I step back? I’m on the offensive. There’s no stepping back in my book.”

“The step we have taken is not a show of strength to someone, it just means that the ambassadors working in Turkey do not interfere in Turkey's internal affairs,” he said.

“Any ambassador does not have the authority to intervene in the internal affairs of the country in which he works. They should know the article 41 of the Vienna Convention better than I do.

"Moreover, an ambassador working in Turkey should know that Turkey is not a tribal state,” he added.

Erdogan had responded by ordering Turkey's foreign minister to declare the 10 ambassadors “persona non grata” over a previous joint statement last week that called for the release of Turkish prisoner Osman Kavala.

However, early on Monday, the 10 embassies in Turkey announced that they abide by Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which calls on envoys not to interfere in the internal affairs of the states they serve in.

Turkish companies have serious potential in Azerbaijan

Erdogan also said Turkish companies in infrastructure and superstructure have serious potential in liberated regions of Azerbaijan.

"A very serious and decisive step has been taken with the cooperation of Turkey-Azerbaijan in infrastructure and superstructure," Erdogan said during his flight back from Azerbaijan.

Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Aliyev jointly inaugurated the first airport in the region, during the Turkish president's third visit since the liberation of the Karabakh region.

"Two more airports are under construction now. It is planned that they will be completed quickly, within one year," Erdogan said, adding that Turkish companies have taken important work in infrastructure construction so far.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies