Discussions between the U.S. and Turkish Presidents on Wednesday dominated by Syria and Ankara's purchase of Russia's S-400s, TURAN's correspondent reports from the White House.
Despite the warm welcome in Washington D.C., two NATO allies have been at odds for months over a host of issues that have sent relations plummeting to historic lows.
However, speaking before reporters at the White House, Trump praised Turkey’s participation in a global fight against terrorism, including some assistance Turkey provided to the operation to kill ISIS terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Erdogan's, in his turn, noted that his country has captured thousands of ISIS terrorists, including over 1,200 still incarcerated in Turkey.
He also expressed his support towards a plan to boost trade between the two countries to $100 billion, nearly four times current levels.
As for Washington's concerns about Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system, both presidents reinstated a commitment to continue talks on the matter.
However, the White House made it clear that in order to make progress on other issues battering bilateral relations it was vital to resolve the S-400 issue.
The issue, Erdogan said, should be overcome "only through dialogue".
He also noted that the recent House-passed measure on the 1915 events has the potential to cast a “deep shadow over our bilateral relations,” adding that decisionmakers about an event 104 years ago should be historians, not politicians.
Alex Raufoglu
Washington D.C.
Politics
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Head of the External Relations and Security Service of the EU Josep Borrel rejected the accusations against him and European countries made by the head of Azerbaijan at the COP29 conference the previous day.
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On Thursday, President Ilham Aliyev received the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, who arrived to participate in the COP29 climate conference.
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) today issued five rulings on applications from Azerbaijan. The case of "Afgan Mammadov v. Azerbaijan" concerned the complainant's exclusion from the Bar Association. Mammadov was expelled based on a complaint filed by a colleague, which he considered unjust. The ECHR ruled that Mammadov's rights had been violated and ordered Azerbaijan to pay him €5,000 in compensation for moral damage and €1,000 to cover legal costs.
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During the ongoing COP29 climate conference in Baku on November 14, a group of activists staged a protest condemning Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The activists also denounced countries that supply oil and weapons to nations waging aggressive wars. The protest featured placards with slogans such as: "From fossil fuels to peace!", "End war crimes!", "Punish the aggressor!", and "Phase out fossil fuel use to achieve peace!" among others.
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