The White House announced, on Thursday, that US President Joe Biden will meet his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in mid-June.
It is scheduled to meet the two leaders in Belgium, during the NATO summit, “NATO” scheduled for June 14.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that Biden “will meet with President Erdogan while he is in Belgium to discuss bilateral and regional issues,” The Hill reported.
The two presidents are also expected to discuss Biden’s description of the 1915 events as the alleged “genocide” against the Armenians, according to the same source.
Biden’s meeting with the Turkish president comes as part of his first foreign trip since taking office last January.
The tour begins next week and includes 3 stops in Europe, the first of which is the United Kingdom to attend the meeting of the Group of Seven industrialized countries, then Belgium to attend the NATO summit, and finally Switzerland to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The statement from the White House spokeswoman said the trip “will highlight Washington’s commitment to restoring its alliances, working with its allies and partners to address global challenges, and better securing the interests of the United States.”
He added that Biden will also meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on June 10, in their first personal meeting since Biden took office.
Biden is also holding bilateral meetings with other leaders, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in the United Kingdom, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, according to the American newspaper.
On June 13, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will meet Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle, and on the 14th of the month, he will travel to Belgium to attend the NATO summit.
Biden will conclude his trip in Geneva, where he will meet on June 16 with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Guy Parmelin, and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, before his expected summit with Putin.
