Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has postponed a White House visit originally scheduled for 9 May due to “unresolved scheduling issues”, Reuters reported on Friday. The announcement highlighted that both the Turkish and American sides have not yet aligned their agendas for the proposed meeting.
According to Reuters, which cites an anonymous Turkish official, the visit was postponed due to changes in Erdoğan’s schedule. Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson said, ‘We look forward to hosting President Erdoğan at the White House at a mutually convenient time’.
Despite being never officially confirmed, the 9 May meeting was anticipated following discussions between US and Turkish officials after Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s recent visit to Washington.
This would have marked Erdoğan’s first bilateral visit to Washington since 2019, underscoring the importance of the meeting against a backdrop of strained US-Turkey relations over several international issues, including disputes over Syria and differing stances on Russia.
Observers, citing Reuters, suggest the postponement might also reflect Erdoğan’s reluctance to engage in potentially contentious discussions about regional issues like Gaza amid ongoing university sit-ins in US university and college campuses in support of Gaza. The political climate could have posed risks for both Erdoğan and Biden, both of whom might be preferring navigating geopolitical tensions while attempting to mend diplomatic ties.
Experts weighed in on the implications of the postponement. “Erdogan will use this to shore up his image domestically and staunch further defections to New Welfare,” Gönül Tol, Director of the Middle East Institute’s Turkish Program, told Amberin Zaman of Al Monitor.
Others suggested that President Erdoğan is actually avoiding such a high-profile confrontation, viewing it more as a potential risk than an opportunity. “If the purpose is to grandstand for Gaza, what better opportunity than to blast the administration’s policy than standing before the cameras alongside Biden in Washington?” a Western diplomat noted to Al-Monitor.
Questions also arise about Erdoğan’s participation in the upcoming NATO summit in July. Speaking to Al Monitor, “Putin is likely rubbing his hands in glee,” retired Turkish ambassador Namik Tan remarked, reflecting on the broader geopolitical implications.
“Both sides are playing it down saying it’s a scheduling issue. That’s positive, but we still don’t have the inside scoop on how we got here, being that until yesterday both sides said the visit was still on,” Amberin Zaman wrote on X.
Some observers have pointed to Erdoğan’s domestic challenges, highlighting his ruling party’s significant losses in recent local elections, where a notable portion of his constituency appears to have shifted allegiance to the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP). This shift is seen by some as a consequence of Turkey’s ongoing trade relations with Israel, despite allegations of potential war crimes against Gazans.
“Ankara requested the meeting, and this was a reward for getting to yes on Sweden. It shows the impact and political salience of Fatih Erbakan [YRP Chair] and the need to domestically signal ‘doing something’ over Israel to protect the right flank,” Aaron Stein from the Foreign Policy Research Institute emphasised.
