Erdogan, Biden meet in New York

NEW YORK

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings.

The White House said in a statement that Biden “reiterated his unshakeable support for Turkish democracy and praised the Turkish people's commitment to democratic institutions and the rule of law”.

Biden also pledged that the U.S. would provide assistance to Turkey in its investigation into “the illegal and violent coup attempt” there this summer, according to the statement.

Biden visited Turkey in August amid tensions between Washington and Ankara regarding the extradition of the U.S.-based Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the bloody failed coup attempt in Turkey in July.

Turkey has asked the U.S. to hand over the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), a network within in the Turkish state that carried out the July 15 coup attempt.

The vice president also condemned the PKK terror group’s violence against Turkish security forces and civilians.

The sit-down at the Peninsula Hotel occurred on the same day Secretary of State John Kerry asked the UN Security Council to ground all aircraft flying above opposition-held areas in Syria to allow aid to flow to besieged areas. Turkey has pushed for a no-fly zone in Syria.

Most observers believe Erdogan and Biden also discussed the situation in Syria and Operation Euphrates Shield launched by Turkey last month in northern Syria to clear Daesh along the Turkish border.