US President Joe Biden has met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Both leaders discussed the deadly bombing in Istanbul along with international efforts for the export of Ukrainian grain.
According to the White House, the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia in which President Biden expressed deep condolences for the deaths of six in a bomb blast in Istanbul’s busy street. Biden also underlined that the US stood with NATO allies.
The Turkish government had said that the attack was carried out by a Kurdish militant group that had denied its involvement.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu had also refused to accept US condolences by saying that Washington was helping in arming Kurdish fighters in Northern Syria.
The international deal for shipping Ukrainian grain exports safely across the Black Sea was discussed in the Biden-Erdogan meeting.
White House said in the statement, “President Biden expressed his appreciation to President Erdogan for his efforts to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which they both agreed has been critical to improving global food security amid Russia’s war and that the initiative must continue.”
The two Presidents also discussed the close coordination on the NATO alliance with Turkey currently holding bids with Finland and Sweden.
