Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will on Tuesday start a four-day trip to the United States, officials said, with ties between the two NATO allies enduring a rocky phase.
“It has been confirmed that the prime minister’s visit to the United States will take place from November 7 to 11,” Turkish government sources said on Thursday.
Relations are strained over last year’s failed coup in Turkey — which Ankara blames on supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen — and different views on Syria’s civil war.
Tensions also surged last month over the arrest of a Turkish employee at the US consulate in Istanbul who was then charged with espionage and seeking to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan‘s government.
In response, the US ambassador on October 8 announced the suspension of most visa services in Turkey. Ankara responded with similar measures.
—AFP