Turkey's Erdogan Slams Biden For Calling Him An 'Autocrat' In 2020

As Turkey headed for a runoff election next week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Joe Biden for calling him an "autocrat" during the 2020 presidential election campaign. 

What Happened: Erdogan, in an interview with CNN on Friday, criticized the incumbent U.S. president and said, "Would a dictator ever enter a runoff election?"

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In comments to New York Times editors in 2020, Biden described the Turkish president as an "autocrat" and criticized his policy towards the Kurds while advocating support for the Turkish opposition. "What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to him now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership," Biden said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish president hailed his "special" and growing relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We are not at a point where we would impose sanctions on Russia like the West have done. We are not bound by the West's sanctions," Erdogan said. 

See Also: Turkey's Erdogan Says ‘Need To Teach America A Lesson' After US Envoy Meets Opposition Presidential Candidate

Why It Matters: Turkey and U.S. relations have remained tense under President Biden's leadership on various fronts, including political, military, and diplomatic issues. Erdogan recently alleged that "Biden gave the order to topple Erdogan, I know this. All my people know this."

A second round of voting forTurkish leadership is scheduled for May 28 as Erdogan and his main opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu failed to reach the 50% majority threshold.

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