Erdogan to Biden: Dear Friend, Our Previous Meetings Were Warm Ups – Now We Begin

The Biden-Erdogan meeting lasted 75 minutes, with the Turkish president calling the US president “my esteemed friend” and telling him that we should work together.

As SKAI correspondent Manolis Kostidis reports from IstanbulErdogan even joked, stressing to Biden that I will be here for five years, I hope the same for you, referring to the elections that will be held in the USA in 2024.

The words from Biden to Erdogan were also warm after his positive response to Sweden joining NATO, however, there was not, as the Turkish side expected, an invitation to Erdogan to go to the White House, but such a thing cannot be ruled out. happen in the near future.

At the same time, the pro-government front pages of the Turkish press are talking about a new page in the relations between Turkey and the US, while the opposition newspapers report that “as always, Erdogan put the reverse gear” referring to the fact that for so long he said no to the integration of Sweden and he finally accepted her.

White House: Stability in the Aegean

Meanwhile, in a statement after the Biden-Erdogan meeting, the White House said:

“US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan raised economic and defense issues during their meeting in Vilnius.

President Biden congratulated President Erdogan on the agreement he reached with Swedish Prime Minister and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

The two leaders discussed efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation, welcoming the latest round of discussions regarding the strategic mechanism. They also discussed regional issues of common interest, including their continued support for Ukraine and the importance of maintaining stability in the Aegean.”

The information also states that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation with Menendez about the F-16s, immediately after the Biden-Erdogan meeting.

Kilicdaroglu: Erdogan heard Biden’s phone call and said ‘order’

After Turkey’s veto of Sweden’s membership was lifted, opposition mouthpiece Kemal Kilicdaroglu says Erdogan “did a 180-degree turn” and yelled “order” when Biden called him.

“Turkey stated that because Sweden protects terrorists and lets them roam free, it stated that it cannot accept its accession to NATO. But Sweden did not back down and they even burned the Koran there. But suddenly Erdogan made a 180-degree turn. Why are you taking back what you said yesterday? My friends, did they release the terrorists? They continue to protect terrorists. Then why did you say no yesterday and today you say yes? But Biden called. I’m sure the president stood up and in an attitude of attention said ‘order’.”

Turkish analysts speak of “Greece’s air superiority in the airwaves”

At the same time, the Turkish analysts continue to talk about Greece’s supremacy on the airwaves. “The Greeks with their F-16 Vipers have the ability to reach Caesarea” says a retired wing commander and adds: “Greece has fighters with a long range, Turkey has very few. With the F-16s we are trying not to fall behind Greece”.

Characteristically, Erdoğan Karakus, wing chief e.a. states: “The Greeks have 98 F-16 fighters which have a long range. They can do business over long distances. Here on the fuselage they have extra fuel. The Greeks are modernizing these fighters to Block-70. These convert them. While we only have 29 long-range fighters.

Greece calculates that its aircraft can reach the middle of Turkey, i.e. up to Caesarea, so it buys its fighters. They used to have the A-7s now they have new aircraft.

Some say that ‘the Greeks cannot come, reach here, etc.’ I don’t want to comment on it, but what I’m saying is that Greece is getting such fighters that have the ability to come. They used to have the A-7s, they retired them. Now half of their fighters have such capabilities. They have about 2.5 tons of extra fuel. That is, they can stay in the air for an extra hour. That is, their radius of action is greater. We are now trying to buy 40 such fighters and modernize another 79. Among the fighters we have.”