Relations with US President Joe Biden "
have not started well
," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkish media on Thursday (September 23rd), referring to the F-35 fighter jets from which his country was dismissed.
Read also Erdogan reluctant to leave the security of Kabul airport to the Taliban
“
My wish is to have friendly and not hostile relations (with the United States).
But the course of things, between two NATO allies, is not currently auspicious,
”lamented Erdogan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to the state agency Anadolu.
"
The F-35s were not delivered to us
"
“
I worked well with (President George W) Bush, the son.
I have worked well with (Barack) Obama and (Donald) Trump.
But I can't say that we started well with Biden,
”he insisted.
Erdogan returned in particular to the issue of American F-35 fighter jets, of which Turkey had ordered a hundred copies before being dismissed for having bought Russian S-400 missiles.
“
We bought the F-35s, paid $ 1.4 billion and the F-35s weren't delivered to us,
” he said.
Read alsoUnited States: Blinken says he hopes for an end to the crisis with Turkey but threatens sanctions
“
For us, the S-400 (Russian missiles) case is settled. It is not possible to reverse. The United States must understand this well (...) We, as Turkey, we are honest but the United States was unfortunately not and it is not
”, he continued. "
We are moving forward (...) We will knock on other doors
"
:
"
Turkey is buying what it takes for its defense
", he warned.
Moreover, considering the new situation in Afghanistan, created by the withdrawal of American forces and the arrival of the Taliban to power, the Turkish head of state considered that "
it is the United States that must pay the price
" in the event of a mass exodus of Afghans.
"
Where are these refugees going to go now?"
It is unthinkable that Turkey opens its doors and accepts them.
It is not a corridor open to us,
”he insisted.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly argues that his country of 84 million people already hosts five million migrants and refugees, including about 3.7 million from Syria and up to 420,000 Afghans.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/KMEYMJKESBAZBE4MRBAM4TGHIQ.jpg)
