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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) – Secretary of State Michael Pompeo will not meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or other government leaders when he visits Turkey next week, a highly unusual situation that US officials attributed to scheduling conflicts and Turkish officials considered a insult.
US officials who briefed reporters on Friday (November 13) about Pompeo’s 10-day trip to seven countries said he wants to focus on religious freedom issues.
He plans to meet religious figures in Istanbul, including the ecumenical patriarch Bartholowew I, the Greek Orthodox Christian leader, but will not travel to the capital Ankara.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry called Pompeo’s planned meetings “extremely inappropriate” interference, upholding the nation’s record on religious freedom despite Erdogan’s actions to elevate the role of mosques and Islamic worship.
Erdogan, who has often clashed over his US policy but maintained friendly relations with President Donald Trump, has joined other world leaders in congratulating President-elect Joe Biden on an election victory that Trump has refused to acknowledge. .
A senior State Department official said Pompeo’s itinerary in Turkey did not reflect a refusal by Turkish leaders to meet.
But a Turkish official, who asked not to be named discussing diplomatic affairs, told a different story: that Pompeo turned down an invitation from Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to go to Ankara during his visit to Turkey and instead told him he asked Cavusoglu to come to Istanbul to meet him.
Cavusoglu refused, the official said, offended that Pompeo is turning his back on Ankara before leaving office, according to a senior Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share the confidential information.
Cavusoglu’s office declined to comment.
Pompeo’s journey will take him to seven countries: France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
It comes at an awkward time as many of the leaders he will meet also congratulated Biden on a victory that Trump and Pompeo have refused to acknowledge.
Pompeo plans to meet with senior leaders at all of his other stops. He’s also planning an event that will break precedents: During his two-night stay in Israel, Pompeo will visit the Golan Heights and Israeli settlements in the West Bank, something that previous senior officials have avoided for fear of antagonizing the Palestinians.
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