ISTANBUL—President Biden met with Turkey’s President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
for the first time since taking office, as the two NATO allies attempt to repair a frayed relationship by seeking common cause over their security interests across the world, from Libya to Syria and Afghanistan.
“There is no problem with the U.S. that we cannot solve,” Mr. Erdogan said following the meeting in Brussels on Monday.
Mr. Biden told reporters that the meeting was productive and said he believed they could make “real progress.”
The longtime allies’ relationship has deteriorated in recent years over several issues. Washington has criticized Ankara’s human-rights record and its increasingly assertive role in the Middle East. Ankara is opposed to U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria. The U.S. penalized Turkey over its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile-defense system.
In April, Washington recognized the early…