US, Turkey did not reach agreement on Russian S-400s: Biden aide

The United States and Turkey did not reach an agreement on the Russian-supplied S-400s to Ankara during this week’s meeting between President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a senior US official said Thursday.

“They discussed it; there was not a resolution of the issue. There was a commitment to continue dialogue on the S-400s,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a briefing with reporters.

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Sullivan was speaking a day after Biden returned from his first overseas trip since taking office.

Biden participated in summits and meetings with officials from the G-7 and NATO while making stops in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Switzerland.

Biden held his first face-to-face meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines before a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ties between Washington and Ankara have dipped to new lows since Erdogan has pursued his own agenda, irrespective of international criticism.

Middle East US slaps sanctions on Turkey over Russia’s S-400 air defense system purchase

As a NATO member, Turkey purchased the Russian defense missile systems despite sanctions threats from Washington.

Separately, the two discussed Afghanistan and touched on Turkey’s proposal to take control of security at the Kabul airport after the US withdrawal is complete.

“The two of them tasked teams just to work out the final details. But the clear commitment from the leaders was established that Turkey would play a lead role in securing Hamid Karzai International Airport,” Sullivan told reporters.