SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Turkey's Erdogan stresses Ukraine war mediation with Biden
Ankara, March 10 (AFP) Mar 10, 2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told US counterpart Joe Biden that mediating the Ukraine-Russia war was important to Ankara, after the two sides' top diplomats held talks in Turkey.

Ankara has close ties with Moscow and Kyiv and hosted a landmark meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Russia's Sergei Lavrov in the southern resort city of Antalya on Thursday.

The talks failed to achieve a breakthrough on a ceasefire or humanitarian issues but highlighted Turkey's role as a mediator in the two-week-old war.

Erdogan said being able to talk to both sides and being a "facilitator" in the search for a resolution to the conflict mattered to Turkey during a 45-minute telephone call with Biden, according to the Turkish presidency.

The White House said President Biden "expressed appreciation" for Turkey's mediation efforts and that both leaders "reaffirmed their strong support" for Ukraine against Russian aggression.

According to the Turkish presidency's statement, Erdogan also demanded the lifting of "unfair sanctions" Washington placed on its fellow NATO member in 2019 after Turkey adopted a Russian defence system.

Ankara seeks to acquire 40 F-16 fighter jets and the spare parts needed to maintain and modernise its existing F-16 fleet.

Turkey spent $1.4 billion when it ordered F-35 stealth fighter jets, but the planes have not been delivered after the US froze the contract in 2019 over Ankara's purchase of Russia's S-400 anti-missile defence system.

The system is seen as a threat for F-35 jets, prompting Washington to exclude Turkey from its cutting-edge military programme.

Turkey has delivered combat drones to its ally Ukraine but also wants to maintain good relations with Russia, which it depends on closely for its tourism sector and wheat and energy supplies.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Maven stays silent after routine pass behind Mars
ICE-CSIC leads a pioneering study on the feasibility of asteroid mining
NASA JPL Unveils Rover Operations Center for Moon, Mars Missions

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Thorium plated steel points to smaller nuclear clocks
Solar ghost particles seen flipping carbon atoms in underground detector
Overview Energy debuts airborne power beaming milestone for space based solar power

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Autonomous DARPA project to expand satellite surveillance network by BAE Systems
IAEA calls for repair work on Chernobyl sarcophagus
Momentus joins US Space Force SHIELD contract vehicle

24/7 News Coverage
UAlbany Atmospheric Scientist Proposes Innovative Method to Reduce Aviation's Climate Impact
Digital twin successfully launched and deployed into space
Robots that spare warehouse workers the heavy lifting



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.