Candid photos with Biden of Erdogan, who says ‘he wants to overthrow me’

A critical threshold was passed today at the NATO Leaders’ Summit, which continues in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The NATO-Ukraine Council, which was established to take NATO-Ukraine relations to the next level, met for the first time in its history.

The first meeting of the Council was held at the level of heads of state and government at the NATO Summit held in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

The President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was present at the meeting, along with the leaders of 31 NATO countries, as well as the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who chaired the meeting, emphasized in his opening remarks that Ukraine stands with its NATO allies as “equals” in the Council.

Reiterating NATO’s support for Ukraine, Stoltenberg said: “We are inspired by your courage. “We must continue to support Ukraine to liberate the territory from it and deter future Russian aggression,” he said.

As Zelenskiy sat between Erdoğan and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, many leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Meloni, were seen chatting and laughing in photos taken before the meeting.

These images reminded me of the words of Erdogan, who strongly criticized Biden during the election period.

HE SAID ‘BIDEN GAVE THE ORDER’

President Erdoğan frequently used anti-American rhetoric against US President Biden in his election campaign.

Speaking at an event in Istanbul the day before the May 14 election, Erdogan said: “Biden gave the order to overthrow Erdogan, I know. All my people know it. “If that’s the case, the polls will answer Biden tomorrow,” he said.