Turkey, White House Disagree On Whether Trump Will Visit in Summer

The Turkish government is telling the press President Trump will make an official visit to Ankara this July.

But the White House told Newsmax on Friday that nothing is finalized for a visit by the President to call on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“No announcements on that front at this point,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told us.

Newsmax specifically asked about a report in the Middle East Eye Wednesday that Trump “will visit Turkey later this year” and citing as a source “a Turkish official.”

“Details of the visit were agreed in a call on Tuesday between Ibrahim Kalin, a senior aide to [Erdogan], and U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton,” reported Middle East Eye.

Although Sanders would not confirm this report, the President’s top spokeswoman did say that “certainly, the President and Erdogan have had a good relationship” and that she “wouldn’t be surprised if they are meeting at some point.”

On Monday, Trump had a telephone conversation with Erdogan about Turkey’s intention to purchase S-400 missiles from Russia and their expected delivery to Ankara in July.  The U.S. is opposed to the deal because, it fears, this would permit Russia to obtain critical data about the next generation of F-35 fighter aircraft Turkey is obtaining from the U.S.

Currently, Turkish pilots are training on the F-35s in Arizona.

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.