Meeting with Trump not on table: Erdogan
Istanbul, Sep 23: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York next week is not currently on the table.
"If a demand comes from Washington, we will evaluate it," Erdogan said in Istanbul, prior to his departure for New York, Xinhua reported.
The relationship between the two NATO allies has significantly deteriorated in recent years over a series of rifts, including the continued detention of a U.S. pastor in Turkey.
Meanwhile, Ankara accused Washington of providing arms to the Kurdish militia in Syria.
Erdogan is expected to address the UN assembly on Tuesday.
"In my speech, I will underline humanitarian crises and call for solutions to these problems which have been deeply hurting hearts," the Turkish president said.
"I will, in particular, draw attention to developments in Syria," he said, noting the biggest issue for the future of Syria is the terror swamp expanding in the east of the Euphrates.
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Ramdas Athawale backs Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM; says Shinde can shift to Centre
New Delhi, Nov 26: RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale, a key BJP ally, on Tuesday called for a quick decision on the next chief minister of Maharashtra and suggested that incumbent Eknath Shinde should shift to the Centre as a Union minister.
Addressing a press conference here, Athawale also backed senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, contending that the saffron party won the maximum number of seats in the 288-member Assembly and should have the right to the top executive post in the state.
He said a peculiar situation has arisen in Maharashtra where BJP leaders want Fadnavis as the chief minister, while Shiv Sena leaders want Shinde to continue in the post, citing the good work he has done over the last two and a half years.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, said NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has declared that he was not in the race for the chief minister.
"We need to resolve this matter, without any further delay. The election results were announced on November 23 and we should have had the oath of the new chief minister on November 26, the Constitution Day," Athawale said.
Backing Fadnavis for the post of chief minister, Athawale said Shinde can become the deputy chief minister or shift to the Centre and join the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Athawale said his RPI(A) has a presence in every part of the state, but unfortunately lost the two seats -- Dharavi and Kalina -- offered to it in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections.
He demanded that an RPI member be made an MLC and a minister in the state government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections winning 235 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP won 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar-led NCP (41). Smaller parties, who are part of the alliance, won five seats.
