Washington/Ankara, Nov 13 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet his US counterpart Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
The development comes only a month after Trump, wrote a letter to Erdogan, calling him a “fool” over Turkey’s military offensive in Syria.
Erdogan’s visit to the US comes amid tense relations between the two NATO allies, Arab News reported.
The tensions between US and Turkey escalated after Ankara launched a military offensive in northeast Syria against Washington-backed Kurdish forces, who are fighting against the terror group Islamic State.
Washington is also angered over Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defence system. The US has halted the delivery of support equipment and supplies to Turkey for F-35 jet fighter jets. It has also threatened to impose sanctions on Turkey over the Russian defence purchase.
However, Erdogan’s latest visit to the White House might serve to smooth over differences and provide a boost to bilateral trade relations.
Ahead of Erdogan’s visit, Trump has indicated that the US is still considering levying sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the S-400. Trump has also offered Erdogan a $100 billion trade deal.
Erdogan has said that he will broadly discuss the current situation in Syria with Trump.
“Despite the fog in our relations, we are in agreement with Mr Trump to improve our relations,” Erdogan said.
–IANS
vin/kr