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Erdogan Will Not Meet with US Delegation Heading to Turkey

Steve Herman

   WHITE HOUSE - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will not
   meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence or Secretary of State Mike
   Pompeo when they travel to Turkey this week to press for a halt to
   Ankara's invasion of northeast Syria.

   Erdogan told Sky News Pence and Pompeo will be meeting their Turkish
   counterparts. He said when President Donald Trump comes to Turkey he
   will meet with him.

   "We're asking for a cease-fire," President Trump said Tuesday at a
   White House event. "We've put the strongest sanctions that you can
   imagine. We have a lot in store if they don't have an impact, including
   massive tariffs on steel."

   Turkey launched its military operation last week to take out Syrian
   Kurdish forces branded by Ankara as terrorists, but viewed by much of
   the West as key partners in the fight against Islamic State. It came
   days after the White House announced Turkey was moving forward with the
   operation and that U.S. troops would be withdrawn from the area. The
   decision to withdraw U.S. troops has been widely criticized by both
   Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

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