U.S. President And Turkish Conterpart Hold First Face-to-face Talk

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave no indication that Ankara’s deal with Moscow for the S-400 missile system, which triggered unprecedented U.S. sanctions on the NATO ally, would be reversed.

Erdogan’s comments came on the heels of his first face-to-face bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO leaders summit.

“It was a very fruitful and sincere meeting,” Erdogan told reporters at NATO’s headquarters, adding that the two allies would continue to negotiate on a range of issues.

Biden also said the meeting with Erdogan was productive, adding that he was confident the U.S. will “make real progress with Turkey.”

Under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, any foreign government working with the Russian defense sector finds itself in the crosshairs of U.S. economic sanctions.

In December, the Trump administration slapped CAATSA sanctions on Turkey after the NATO ally purchased a multibillion-dollar Russian missile system.

The S-400, a Russian mobile surface-to-air missile system, is said to pose a risk to the NATO alliance as well as the F-35, America’s most expensive weapons platform.

The move further stoked tensions between Washington and Ankara in the weeks ahead of Biden’s ascension to the White House.