Erdogan postponed the meeting with Biden in Washington

ANKARA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan postponed the meeting with US President Joseph Biden in Washington, which was informally planned for May 9, an unnamed Turkish official told Reuters, reports Tanjug.

He added that it is not known what is the reason for delaying the visit, and that a new date will be scheduled soon.

A US official noted that the meeting between the two NATO leaders had not been officially announced, and representatives of the White House, the State Department and the Turkish president had not issued a statement on the matter. This meeting would be Erdogan’s first visit to Washington since 2019, when he met with former US President Donald Trump. Erdogan and Biden met several times at international summits and spoke on the phone.

Reuters reports that relations between Ankara and Washington have been strained for some time due to differences on several key issues.

Although relations improved when Turkey ratified Sweden’s bid for NATO membership earlier this year, tensions remain over Syria, Russia and the war in Gaza. Erdogan visited Iraq this week, and last weekend met with the political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Istanbul.