Intel: US blames ‘scheduling issue’ for no Pompeo-Erdogan meeting
A State Department official said Pompeo's "tight schedule" will keep him from meeting Turkish officials when in Istanbul next week.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has no plans to meet with Turkish officials during his upcoming visit to Istanbul, in what State Department officials said Friday was not a snub, but a scheduling conflict.
During his high-profile trip, which begins in France and includes stops in Georgia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel, Pompeo will meet with the leaders of all but Turkey. His second leg of the trip will take him to Istanbul, but not the Turkish capital, Ankara.
During a call with reporters Friday, State Department officials said Pompeo was unable to fit in a meeting with Turkish officials due to a “scheduling issue.” He will have an opportunity to engage with his counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in a few weeks at the NATO meeting of foreign ministers, an official said.
“The schedule is very tight,” a senior State Department official said. “I also understand that Turkish officials, including the president and foreign minister, have their own travel schedule.”
