Biden to meet Erdogan in Rome to avoid future diplomatic crises

The American President, Joe Biden, will meet tomorrow, Sunday, in Rome with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the aim of avoiding future diplomatic crises, such as when Ankara recently was about to expel ten Western ambassadors, including that of the United States, among other issues, a senior official of the Biden Administration informed the press, who asked anonymity.

Erdogan reversed last week the expulsion of the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, who had asked in a letter for the release of the Turkish businessman and activist. Osman Kavala, who has been in custody for four years.

The diplomats criticized the continuing delays in the activist’s trial, which “cast a shadow over the Turkish Judiciary”, and recalled that the European Court of Human Rights has already decreed his release, which has not occurred.

Erdogan considered these phrases an unacceptable attempt to “give lessons” to Turkey and on October 23 he announced that he had “instructed the Foreign Ministry” to declare persona non grata to the ten ambassadors as soon as possible, the formal step that entails expulsion. of a diplomat.

On this situation, the senior US official said that Biden will tell Erdogan that both countries have to find “a way to avoid crises like that in the future.”

“Hasty action will not benefit the partnership and alliance between the United States and Turkey,” said the source.

In addition, he pointed out that if Erdogan had followed through on his threat to expel the diplomats, tomorrow’s meeting surely would not have happened.

At that meeting, Biden and Erdogan will also discuss Syria, Libya, and Turkey’s interest in various US-made aircraft and defense systems.

On the other hand, the same high official announced that Biden met this Saturday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Vice Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, a Social Democratic candidate for the Chancellery of that country, as a transition to the next change in power in Germany .

The G20 summit began today with a session dedicated to the global economy and health, and will conclude tomorrow with a press conference by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who will summarize the agreements reached on issues such as taxation, pandemic, economic recovery and change. climate.

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