ARMS-WEAPONS/G20/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TURKEY: “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, holding a rare meeting with international journalists, said on Thursday [6-20-19] that he expected to resolve disagreements with the United States, particularly his purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system, in a one-on-one meeting with President Trump at the end of the month. The two leaders are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit meeting in Osaka, Japan. Officials said they may also seek to finalize plans for Mr. Trump to visit Turkey in July. Mr. Erdogan, who last gave an interview to an American newspaper in 2012, held the briefing with journalists just days before a rerun of a critical election for Istanbul mayor. The candidate for his Justice and Development Party, known as A.K.P., lost that race in March, and polls suggest he could lose again on Sunday. But other than rejecting those polls, and insisting that he would accept the results even if the opposition wins again on Sunday, Mr. Erdogan seemed more interested in talking about foreign policy, and showing a statesmanlike manner before the G-20 meeting, than in discussing the election.”
–Carlotta Gall, “Erdogan Says He Will Meet With Trump to Resolve Weapons Disagreement,” The New York Times online, June 20, 2019