Trump to meet Erdoğan at G20 summit in Argentina after phone call on Ukraine

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the G20 summit in Argentina, Trump's top security aide said Nov. 27.

The two president also discussed in a phone call amid tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish presidency said.

Russia seized three Ukrainian naval ships off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea on Sunday after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors, a move that risks igniting a dangerous new crisis between the two countries.

In his call with Trump, Erdoğan shared details of his earlier phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the presidency said in a statement.

The two-day G20 summit that begins Friday will discuss trade, growth, climate change, gender equality, among other issues of global importance.

On the sidelines of the summit, Erdoğan is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders and representatives of international organizations.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said Trump had no plans to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is under fire for his believed role in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
After initially saying he had left the consulate alive, Saudi Arabia admitted weeks later that he was killed there.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said, however, that any interaction between the two leaders could not be ruled out.

"I know the president's schedule is pretty packed, and has a number of sessions that he'll be involved in," said Sanders. "Whether or not there is some interaction, I’m not going to rule that out."

Erdoğan last held a brief meeting with Trump at the UN General Assembly meetings in New York in September.

Founded in 1999, the G20 is composed of 19 countries plus the EU, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the U.S.