Erdogan and Trump to meet at G-20 summit in Japan
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump will meet at next month’s Group of 20 summit to discuss bilateral issues, including Ankara’s plan to buy a Russian missile defense system that has raised the ire of the United States.
In a tweet Wednesday, Erdogan’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said that in a phone call with Trump, Erdogan reiterated Turkey’s offer for a joint group to overcome an impasse with the U.S. on Turkey’s pledge to buy Russian-made S-400 missiles.
U.S. officials said the S-400s would pose a risk to Turkey’s F-35 fighter jet program and warned Ankara it risked being kicked out of the F-35 program and could face U.S. sanctions.
Erdogan also welcomed the U.S. decision this month to drop additional tariffs on Turkish steel. Trump had doubled the tariffs to 50% in August amid a diplomatic spat over the imprisonment of an American pastor.
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the two leaders discussed increasing trade, the reduction of steel tariffs to 25% from 50% and the S-400 missile defense system.
The G-20 summit of leaders from the developed and developing worlds is in Osaka, Japan June 28-29.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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