White House Confirmed Information on Possible Meeting of US and Turkish Presidents

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan will have a bilateral meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during a visit to Washington this week, but a senior U.S. official declined to say whether formal talks with President Barack Obama were planned, reports Reuters.

Erdoğan will be among more than 50 world leaders attending a Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on March 31 and April 1.

There has been intense speculation in the Turkish media as to whether he would meet Obama, with some suggesting a failure to do so would be a deliberate U.S. snub amid differences over Syria and U.S. concerns over the direction of Turkey’s domestic policies.

At a press conference in Istanbul before leaving for the United States earlier on Tuesday, Erdoğan said a meeting with Obama at the nuclear summit was planned, although he said he did not know how long it would last.

Biden’s office later said the vice president would host Erdoğanfor a meeting on March 31 in Washington.

A senior U.S. administration official said Obama and Erdoğan”will have the opportunity to talk at the summit” but did not have any scheduling updates.

Before that, The Wall Street Journal reported that Obama refused a private meeting with the Turkish president.