Erdogan to visit US in May

The visit to Washington will be the first Erdogan to hold since 2019, when he met with then US President Donald Trump, with whom he has good personal reports. Since Beden was elected to the post of president in 2020, Ankara has demanded that the two leaders hold a face-to-face meeting.

Reports between the two NATO allies, described with major differences on a range of issues, have improved after Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO accession in January, following the 20 months delay that had caused frustration in Washington.

However, differences continue between Washington and Ankara on other issues, including northern Syria, where American forces support Kurdish militants Turkey considers terrorists. Washington is also pressuring Ankara to do more to stop the transit of goods to Russia, since it argues Moscow's revenues are being used for the fight against Ukraine.

The Turkish security official did not provide further information on the visit, but said Turkey's top intelligence official, Ibrahim Kalin, will meet with members of the US House of Representatives to discuss the planned visit and other bilateral issues.

There is still no comment from Washington or the US Embassy in Ankara on this visit.

Analysts said Beden and Erdogan will likely talk about the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group declared terrorist organisations by the US and the European Union. Erdogan is a vocal critic of Israel's military actions at the Gaza Strip. Analysts also predicted that the topic of discussions at the White House could be co-operation in the defence industry, including the purchase of American F-16s from Ankara. / REL