U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, the White House said Monday.

Obama will discuss with the Turkish leader the circumstances in the country since the attempted coup, the campaign against the Islamic State group, Syria, and the refugee crisis, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters.

It will be the first meeting between Obama and Erdogan since the failed attempted coup in Turkish last month.

The meeting will come at a time when the failed coup attempt in Turkey has left relations between Washington and Ankara in a state of uncertainty.

Erdogan blamed the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, the United States, for the coup attempt and demanded his extradition.

The United States has insisted that the cleric would only be extradited as a result of a legal process according to the relevant laws and treaties.

The 11th G20 summit is to be held on Sept. 4-5 in China' s eastern city of Hangzhou. Following the summit, Obama will travel to Laos, the first ever U.S. presidential visit to the Southeast Asia country, according to Rhodes.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by XinHua News Agency

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