"Turkey First:" Erdogan's power push poses challenge for Biden

FILE PHOTO: Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference on the final day of the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

ANKARA (Reuters) - When Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan last received Joe Biden on official business, in August 2016, Erdogan had just sent tanks into Syria.

Seated by Erdogan's side on a cream-and-gold-leaf chair in Ankara's presidential palace, then-Vice President Biden said, "We're supportive of the operation."