Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at the Group of 20 summit in Rome, which means he may now skip the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next week.
Erdogan is eager to talk about the fate of $1.4 billion Turkey paid to buy F-35 fighter jets. Washington barred Ankara from purchasing and co-developing the jets after it bought Russian air-defense missiles that NATO allies fear could be used to collect intelligence on the plane’s stealth capabilities.
A senior U.S. official said that two men will meet on Sunday morning. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had told reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden was likely to sit down with Erdogan at COP26.
The U.S. has denied making any financing offer over Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 warplanes, after Erdogan said that may be a way of returning the $1.4 billion.
Footage from the G-20 summit shows Biden and Erdogan spoke — albeit briefly — as the leaders sat down for their first plenary session.
