Erdogan: Biden 'showed positive attitude' regarding F-16 jets

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his US counterpart Joe Biden showed a "positive attitude" on the issue of modernising Turkey’s F-16 fighter jets.

"The issue of modernising the F-16s we have or providing new F-16s came to the fore (during the meeting with Biden). Our defence ministers are following the process," Erdogan told reporters at the G20 summit in Rome on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the Turkey and US leaders held a closed-door meeting which lasted over an hour.

"Be it the House of Representatives or the Senate" Erdogan said Turkey expects "the US' care at this point"

In the meeting, Biden reaffirmed Turkey's importance as a NATO ally as well as its defence partnership with the US, the White House said in a statement.

READ MORE: Will the F-16 crisis be a setback for Turkey–US relations?

Erdogan, Biden meeting

Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome, the two leaders "had a very constructive conversation" in which Biden "made clear his desire to have constructive relations with Turkey and to find an effective way to manage our disagreements," a senior US administration official said.

Responding to a question about his meeting with Biden, Erdogan said he had conveyed Turkey's "regret" over support given to YPG/PYD/PKK terror group in Syria, especially by US.

Such support for terror groups "harms" the solidarity between two countries, Erdogan said, adding, he "believes" that the US arms support for terror groups in Syria will not continue in the future.

Biden expressed appreciation for Turkey’s nearly two decades of contributions to the NATO mission in Afghanistan, the White House statement read.

READ MORE: Erdogan, Biden meet on sidelines of G20 summit in Rome