Meeting Face-to-face: Joe Biden Says Positive, Erdogan Says No Problem

Joe Biden and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in 2014. (Wikimedia Commons/Office of US Vice President)

JAKARTA - The President of the United States (US) Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Monday, June 14, amid the problems that occurred between the two countries, around Russia, Syria, and Libya.

Both Biden and Erdogan both appreciated their meeting, optimistic about the future of better relations between Turkey and the United States.

"We had a positive and productive meeting. Our team will continue our discussions and I am sure we will make real progress with Turkey and the United States", President Joe Biden Biden said at a press conference after the meeting.

"We think that there is no problem between the US and Turkey relations that cannot be resolved. And that the field of cooperation for us is richer and bigger than the problem", President Erdogan said.

Despite the optimistic tone expressed by the two, there are no details regarding efforts to improve relations between the two countries, as well as ease Turkey's tensions with NATO countries.

Having the second-largest military in NATO, Turkey has infuriated its alliance allies after buying Russian S-400 missiles, engaging in wars in Syria and Libya, and tensions with Greece and Cyprus. As a 'sanction', Washington removed Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program.

One area where Erdogan hopes to demonstrate Turkey's central role in NATO is Afghanistan, where Ankara has offered to guard and operate Afghanistan's Kabul airport after US and NATO forces withdraw in the coming weeks.

While at the NATO summit on Monday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey would play a key role but no decision was made at yesterday's meeting.