White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded yesterday to reporters asking whether U.S. President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the G-20 Leaders’ Summit to be held this weekend in Rome. “We have space in the schedule, which we’re working to finalize for additional bilateral meetings […] I don’t have anything to predict quite yet. And hopefully, with each day that follows, we’ll have more,” she said. She also noted that U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will make a more detailed statement about Biden’s Schedule on the plane to Europe.
In the briefing, Psaki also addressed last week’s row between Turkey and the 10 foreign ambassadors who released a statement calling for the release of businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala. “Turkey remains a NATO Ally — a country that we will continue to work with on a range of joint shared interests moving forward,” Psaki said. She also said the White House would continue to speak out about the detainment of activists, journalists, and individuals around the world, including in Turkey.
The U.S. Senate, meanwhile, confirmed former Senator Jeff Flake as the country’s new Ambassador to Ankara following a months-long impasse. The chamber approved the former lawmaker from Arizona via voice vote following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s October 19 approval of Flake’s nomination. Flake will succeed outgoing Ambassador David Satterfield.
Also, in U.S.-Turkey relations, a group of U.S Congress members called for President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reject Turkey’s F-16 request with a letter.
The Turkish Parliament ratified a motion extending authorization to launch cross-border anti-terrorist operations in northern Iraq and Syria for two more years, until October 30, 2023. The body also voted to extend participation in a Lebanon peacekeeping mission until October 30, 2022. The ruling AK Party, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the opposition IYI Party backed the Iraq and Syria motion. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), however, voted against.
Foreign exchange rates, which were on an upward climb, started to decrease after the ’10 ambassadors’ tensions eased. USD/TRY fell from 9.85 to 9.47 as of this morning. Now, the economy world awaits the Central Bank’s inflation report and Governor Sahap Kavcioglu’s statements on October 28.
DAILY AGENDA
The Economic Confidence Index decreased by 1% to 101.4 in October, compared to last month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
Exports rose by 30% to USD 20.7bn and imports increased by 11.9% to USD 23.3bn in September, compared to the same month of last year, according to TurkStat.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will deliver a speech at the AK Party’s group meeting (12.00 pm).
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