Expected at COP26, Erdogan returns to Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, initially expected in Glasgow (United Kingdom) on Monday for the UN climate conference (COP26), returned to Turkey overnight from Sunday to Monday, state news agency Anadolu reported. .

The Turkish president, who took part in the G20 summit in Rome on Saturday and Sunday, landed at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport at 12:20 a.m. (9:20 p.m. GMT), according to Anadolu, who does not say whether the Turkish president still plans to visit. in Scotland, where COP26 is due to be held until November 12.

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Turkey - the last country to have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement - had indicated that Recep Tayyip Erdogan Erdogan would visit Glasgow on Monday.

When questioned, the Turkish presidency did not respond to AFP's requests on Monday morning.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was initially scheduled to meet with US President Joe Biden in Glasgow.

But the two heads of state met on Sunday at the G20 in Rome, vowing to cooperate better to improve particularly tense relations, according to Ankara and the White House.

The Turkish president also spoke behind closed doors on Sunday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The entourage of Emine Erdogan, the wife of the Turkish president, told AFP on Monday that relations between the Turkish First Lady and Brigitte Macron were in good shape, despite the regular tensions between their husbands.

Brigitte Macron and her Turkish counterpart exchanged several times over the weekend, according to her entourage.

According to photos communicated by the Turkish presidency, Brigitte Macron also wore in Rome, in the presence of Emine Erdogan, a black mask adorned with an embroidered flower - a gift offered to her by the Turkish First Lady - a gesture interpreted positively by Ankara .