Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 26 returned home after completing his visit to the United States to attend the 79th United Nations (UN) General Assembly without joining the U.S. President Joe Biden’s dinner for world leaders.
The Turkish president was expected to attend the dinner with First Lady Emine Erdoğan on Sept. 25. Instead, he left the U.S. after he completed his meetings with several leaders.
The president’s office did not issue any press release about his choice to skip the dinner.
Turkish media speculated that his decision might be related to Israel’s ongoing attacks in Lebanon along with months-long massacres in Palestine.
President Erdoğan strongly condemned Israel’s military campaigns in his speech during the U.N. General Assembly as well.
After facing months of criticism from pro-Palestinian protesters in Turkey, the government previously announced that it had halted trade relations with Israel.
Erdoğan meets world leaders
Turkish president, along with ministers and senior bureaucrats, met with various world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
President Erdoğan held a series of high-level meetings with several world leaders, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
He also met with key figures such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Additionally, Erdoğan held discussions with Sudanese Sovereignty Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan.
duvarenglish.com