Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his meeting with his American counterpart Joe Biden on June 14 had allowed the opening of a "
new era
" between the two countries after years of tension.
Read also: NATO: Erdogan forced to fall into line
"
We believe we have opened the doors to a new era with the United States on a positive and constructive basis,
" Erdogan told reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting.
"
Turkey's only request (to Washington) is to see its economic and political sovereignty respected and to be supported in its fight against terrorist organizations
," he added.
He said he wanted to take advantage of "
the positive climate
" which he said characterized his meeting with Joe Biden to "
strengthen the channels of dialogue
" between the two countries.
Strained relationships
The two leaders met on June 14 on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels, for the first time since Joe Biden took office.
Several areas of disagreement between Ankara and Washington have strained their relations: from Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system to American support for Syrian Kurdish militias, including the American refusal to extradite the preacher Fethullah Gülen , accused of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt against the Turkish president.
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In response to the 2019 delivery to Turkey of the first battery of the Russian S-400 air defense system, the United States excluded Ankara from the production program of the F-35 stealth aircraft, arguing that the Russian missiles could unravel its technological secrets and were incompatible with NATO's devices. Turkey has since continued to ask Washington to reinstate it in this program, claiming that the deployment of the S-400 would have no impact on NATO's defense systems.
Turkish-American relations have deteriorated since Joe Biden took over in the White House in January from Donald Trump, an ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Joe Biden notably recognized the Armenian genocide under the Ottoman Empire during the First World War, angering Ankara. During their meeting in Brussels, Erdogan also discussed with his American counterpart the modalities of a possible maintenance of Turkish forces present in Afghanistan after the American withdrawal from this country scheduled for September. In this regard, Washington on June 17 hailed
Turkey's "
clear commitment
" to play "
a key role
" in securing Kabul airport after the departure of American and foreign troops.