Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and US President Joe Biden agreed on Sunday to form a joint mechanism to improve strained ties, Turkish media said, after talks a Turkish official said were held in a “very positive” atmosphere.

Days after the Nato allies narrowly averted a major diplomatic crisis, Erdogan and Biden held a 70-minute meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome.

On Saturday, a US official had said they would discuss human rights and Turkeys request to buy F-16 jets and modernisation kits.

Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu news agency said Erdogan and Biden discussed steps to boost bilateral trade and emphasised the fundamentals of their Nato alliance and strategic partnership during the talks.

The US administration official had said on Saturday that Biden would warn his Turkish counterpart that any “precipitous” actions would not benefit US-Turkish relations and that crises should be avoided after

Erdogan threatened to throw out the US ambassador and other foreign envoys for seeking the release of jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala.

Erdogan later withdrew his threat.