President Erdogan says will discuss Turkey-US tensions with Biden

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will discuss the recent tensions between the US and Turkey with his American counterpart Joe Biden in the upcoming NATO leaders’ summit.

In an interview with national broadcaster TRT late on Tuesday, Erdogan said "preliminary preparations" have been made ahead of the meeting.

"At the meeting, we will ask why the Turkey-US relations are going through such a tense period," said Erdogan.

The meeting between Erdogan and Biden will take place on the sidelines of the June 14 NATO leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Erdogan also reiterated disappointment over Washington's support for YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria.

READ MORE: Erdogan asks Biden to reverse 'wrong step' on Armenia declaration

Relations with Egypt

On relations with Egypt, Erdogan said Turkey and Egypt have a vast area of cooperation from the Eastern Mediterranean to Libya and Ankara is determined to restore relations with Cairo.

“I know Egyptian people very well. The cultural aspect of our ties is very strong. Therefore, we are determined to start this process again," said the president.

"Our desire is to use these opportunities for cooperation at the maximum level and improve our ties on a win-win basis ... The same situation is valid for all Gulf countries too," Erdogan said.

READ MORE: What does the Turkey-Egypt rapprochement mean for the Middle East?

Ankara's ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been strained over several issues, including the Libyan conflict, the Eastern Mediterranean and the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

Turkey has in recent months been pushing to repair ties with the estranged regional powers. It sent a delegation to Cairo for talks and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu held talks in Riyadh with his Saudi counterpart.

READ MORE: Saudi foreign minister says relations with Turkey 'good, amicable'

President Erdogan to discuss tourism with UK's Johnson

President Tayyip Erdogan said he would hold talks on tourism with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at this month's NATO summit, after Britain imposed Covid-related travel restrictions on Turkey last month.

Turkey was put on Britain's travel 'red list', prompting the UEFA Champions League final to be moved to Porto and the Formula One Turkish Grand Prix to be cancelled. Erdogan has said that the decisions were political and that he could not reach Johnson at the time.

He also said his officials had held talks in Germany and Russia to prepare for the summer tourism season, which is critical for Turkey, and added there were positive developments