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Trump-Erdogan meeting brings relief for Turkish assets
tUrkey
THE long-awaited meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump was held on June 29 in Osaka, Japan on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
Markets have focused on the meeting since the Turkish side have been pumping for a while that Erdogan would solve the sanctions issue with Trump in Osaka.
it was notable that Trump has voiced Erdo- gan’s arguments. However, he did not guarantee that he would halt the CAATSA sanctions to be imposed on Turkey. US lawmakers want to impose sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems.
ey say that the S-400s could jeopardise the performance data of F-35 stealth ghter jets and that Turkey should be thrown out of the F-35 programme and not obtain any of the jets if it goes ahead with its deal with the Kremlin.
Trump’s empathetic stance towards Erdogan’s arguments fuelled the enthusiasm in Turkey. Locals currently expect a rally in Turkish lira and in Turkish assets on July 1 a er markets open.
Currently, it is smelling like Turkish mar- kets are getting ready for a last rally prior to the scheduled arrival of S-400s within July.
in Osaka, both populists, as expected, made no compromise on their trademark surrealist stances.
Although Trump pleased Erdogan by repeat- ing his claims, sanctions issue remained “com- plicated”. “We have a complicated situation because the president was not allowed to buy the Patriot missiles, so he bought the other ones - the S-200s or 400s... He wasn’t allowed by the Obama administration to buy it until a er he made a deal to buy other missiles. So, he buys the other missiles, and then all of sudden, they say, ‘Well, you can now buy our missiles.’ You can’t do
business that way. it’s not good,” Trump said dur- ing his brie ng, according to the minutes of their joint press meeting with Erdogan prior to their 35 minute-long shooting the breeze released by the White House.
it is notable that blaming Obama could help Trump also blame his predecessor for the CAATSA sanctions to be imposed on his “close friend” Erdogan’s country.
“it’s a problem, there’s no question about it... it’s not good. it’s not good... We’re looking at di erent solutions ... it’s a two-way street... He’s a Nato member, and he’s someone i’ve become friendly with, and you have to treat people fairly. i don’t think he was treated fairly,” Trump replied to a question on the sanctions.
Despite Erdogan’s claims suggesting Trump would visit Turkey in July, Trump said he would visit but a date had not been set yet.
Trump described the current situation during his press brie ng at the end of the G-20 summit as “a mess” but “honestly, it’s not really Erdogan’s fault.”
“He’s tough, but i get along with him... Maybe it’s a bad thing, but i think it’s a good thing,” he also told reporters.
Meanwhile, Erdogan has kept his stance to describe the solid stance by the US establishment as some insigni cant noises from “lower levels” although he did not elaborate on whether he sees the US establishment as a whole, including the US congress, as insigni cant.
“What some people in lower ranks are say- ing absolutely do not align with Mr Trump’s approach. i believe these will not harm our bilateral ties, and that is the commitment we are going on with,” Erdogan said during his press brie ng at the end of the G20 summit.
Erdogan also claimed that Trump has assured him he would not sanction Turkey.
Week 26 02•July•2019 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7