Erdogan will visit Washington on May 9: why this visit can be considered historic

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit the United States on May 9. This trip can be considered historic, as the Turkish leader will visit the United States for the first time since 2019 and will meet with President Joe Biden.

Since he took office in 2020, Ankara has been expecting a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders but has not received a positive response. The upcoming visit was reported by Reuters, citing a Turkish security official.

The official did not provide any additional information about the visit but said that Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would meet with members of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss the planned visit and other bilateral issues.

As the author of the article noted, analysts believe that Biden and Erdogan are likely to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, as well as cooperation in the defense industry, including Turkey's recently approved purchase of American F-16 fighter jets.

The media recalled that during his last visit to the United States in 2019, Erdogan met with then-American leader Donald Trump. They had good personal ties, which cannot be said about the Turkish president's relationship with Joe Biden. After the latter was elected president in 2020, Ankara sought another face-to-face meeting.

Relations between the United States and Turkey, NATO allies that have long been tense due to disagreements over several issues, thawed after Ankara ratified Sweden's application for membership in the Alliance in January. However, tensions remain, particularly in northern Syria, where U.S. troops are allied with Kurdish militants whom Ankara considers terrorists. Washington is also demanding that Ankara make more efforts to stop the transit of goods to Russia, which it says are used in Moscow's military operations in Ukraine.

In 2015, Erdogan planned to visit Moscow on May 9 and take part in the celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the "victory" in World War II. However, in the end, the Turkish leader canceled the trip, sending an ambassador instead. Turkey did not specify the reasons for the refusal at the time. This year, on the same date, the Turkish president decided to travel to the United States.

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