TURKEY: Erdogan Postpones Planned Washington Trip

Wires reporting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has postponed a trip to Washington where he was expected to meet President Biden on May 9. Bloomberg notes that the postponement is related to a change in Erdogan’s schedule and a new date will be discussed.

• Although the WH said a meeting was never announced, it was widely reported yesterday. Cancellation of such a high-profile trip is likely to be read as indicative of strained tensions and could undermine a recent warming of relations that has been derailed by opposing positions on the Israel-Hamas war.
• WH NSC spokesperson John Kirby was probed yesterday on the optics of Biden meeting with Erdogan shortly after he hosted Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul.
• Kirby said: "There’s nothing on the schedule to speak to in terms of a specific visit by President Erdogan," and added that he'd let Erdogan, "speak to the meetings that he’s having. We’ve been very clear about our position on Hamas and who they are and what they represent. I’ll leave it at that."
• As with Ukraine, where Ankara has straddled Moscow and Kyiv, Turkey has maintained relations with Hamas whilst heavily criticising Israel's military operation in Gaza. Reuters reportsthat Erdogan told his AFK party in October last year: "Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, it is a liberation group..."
• However, Middle East Eye reports that Ankara acted as an intermediary between the US, Israel, and Iran to deescalate tensions following tit-for-tat military strikes earlier this month - demonstrating its value as a regional broker.