Erdogan's planned visit to Washington is the first since Trump was president of the United States (Getty)
Turkish and American officials said - today, Friday - that President Joe Biden is scheduled to host his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on May 9, in the first visit by the Turkish president to Washington since Donald Trump was president of the United States.
The visit comes after reports of tension and disagreements between the two countries that are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), before Ankara ratified Sweden’s request to join the alliance in January after a delay of 20 months, while officials from the two countries confirmed that the visit represented an opportunity to enhance cooperation in Several areas, including "counter-terrorism."
However, tension still exists due to issues including northern Syria, where US forces are allied with Kurdish militants whom Ankara considers terrorists, in addition to pressure from Washington regarding further efforts to ensure “there is no circumvention of its sanctions imposed on Russia,” which overlooks the Black Sea coast like it. The affairs of Turkey and Ukraine.
An American official also said that the president's administration is looking forward during this visit to see whether Ankara can adhere to a ban on "dual-use" goods such as chemicals and microchips to Russia.
Since Biden's election in 2020, he and Erdogan have met several times on the sidelines of international summits, in addition to telephone conversations.
Despite the dispute over America’s military presence in Syria and its support for Israel in the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, Washington and Ankara recently concluded a deal approving the latter’s purchase of F-16 fighters, and US Ambassador Jeff Flake announced earlier last February that Congress had approved the sale of those fighters. Fighters for Ankara.
Ongoing meetings
For his part, a Turkish security official said that the head of the intelligence service, Ibrahim Kalin, will meet with members of the US House of Representatives today to discuss the president’s planned visit and other bilateral issues, after Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Defense Minister Yaşar Guler met with an American delegation yesterday and today.
American and Turkish officials also discussed improving security relations and energy issues in Ankara, as the two long-time NATO allies seek to rebuild a relationship tested by the fighting in Ukraine and Syria.
Today, Bloomberg News Agency quoted a post by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on the X platform, “discussing issues related to energy, energy security, and possibilities for cooperation within the strategic framework between Turkey and the United States.”
Reports indicated that Washington and Ankara are expected to hold talks - during Erdogan's planned visit - to increase purchases of Turkish explosives to support Kiev in the war with Russia.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies