Erdogan ordered earlier this month to expel the ambassadors of ten Western countries, including the United States, for issuing a statement calling for the release of businessman Osman Kavala, but he withdrew his threat.
The US official told reporters: “The president will certainly indicate the need to find a way to avoid crises like the ones that exist today, and that taking hasty action will not benefit the partnership and alliance between the United States and Turkey.”
The official added that any meeting between the two leaders might not have occurred if Erdogan had expelled the US ambassador. But he said the issue has been resolved at least for the time being.
Biden will discuss Turkey’s order to buy F-16 fighter jets, its defense relationship with the United States, and a host of regional issues such as Syria and Libya. Biden is visiting Rome to attend the G-20 summit.
US lawmakers urged the Biden administration not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, and threatened to block any such exports on the grounds that Turkey had bought Russian missile defense systems and “acted as an adversary.”
Reuters reported this month that Turkey had asked the United States to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets produced by Lockheed Martin and about 80 modernization equipment for its existing aircraft.
The alliance between the United States and Turkey, two NATO allies, has come under pressure in recent years due to political differences over Syria, Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system and human rights.
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