Turkey-US ties based on strategic partnership - President Erdogan

Responding to a reporter's question prior to taking off for the G20 in Osaka, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he did not get the impression from his US counterpart Donald Trump that NATO members would be sanctioning each other over missiles.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emine Erdogan arrive at Kansai airport in Izumisano city, Osaka in Japan ahead of the 2019 G20 summit. June 27, 2019.
AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emine Erdogan arrive at Kansai airport in Izumisano city, Osaka in Japan ahead of the 2019 G20 summit. June 27, 2019.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said ties between Ankara and Washington are based on a strategic partnership.

Erdogan was speaking on Wednesday in Ankara before taking off for the G20 summit which kicks off on Friday in Osaka, Japan. The president landed in Japan on Thursday where he received an honorary doctorate from Mukogawa Women's University.

Replying to a question on purchase of the Russian S-400 air defence systems, Erdogan said: "I don't know if NATO countries began to impose sanctions on each other. I did not receive this impression during my meeting with [US President Donald] Trump."

Erdogan will also pay an official visit to China following the summit, according to Turkish Presidency Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.

F-35s and S-400s

US officials have urged Turkey to buy US Patriot missiles, arguing the Russian S-400 missile defence systems would be incompatible with NATO systems and expose the F-35s to possible Russian subterfuge.

Turkey, however, emphasised the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.

Turkey has urged the formation of a commission to clarify any technical issues, but the US has failed to respond to this proposal.

Drilling in Mediterranean

Erdogan also discussed the Greek Cypriot administration’s drilling in the eastern Mediterranean. 

Erdogan noted everyone who lives in Cyprus Island has rights to the sea. 

“We cannot agree if you [the Greek side] say 'we will bring it under control of southern Cyprus,'" he said.

Turkey's stance is based on win-win [on Eastern Mediterranean] and that the other party should also treat Turkey with the same fairness, he added.

Two Turkish-flagged drilling ships, the Fatih and the Yavuz, launched offshore drilling operations this year in an area 75 kilometres (42 nautical miles) off the island’s western coast.

The area falls entirely within the Turkish continental shelf-registered with the UN and under permit licences granted by the Turkish government to Turkish Petroleum Corporation, the country's national oil company. 

Erdogan's agenda

Altun tweeted that during the summit, Erdogan "will highlight the importance of “free trade, sustainable development and the global economy’s stability against the backdrop of trade wars.”

“In addition to attending the G20 summit, the President will discuss bilateral relations and regional issues at his meetings with fellow leaders, including US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Altun added.

TRT World's Melinda Nucifora has more details on the Erdogan and Trump meeting. 

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He also noted that Erdogan will visit Beijing, where he will meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Following the inaugural summit of the G20 in November 2008 in Washington, summit meetings were held semiannually until 2010 and annually from 2011 onwards.

Turkey hosted the event in 2015, followed by China in 2016, Germany in 2017 and Argentina in 2018.

The topics of the annual summits vary depending on major global issues and crises at the time.

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