Erdogan's Postponement of US Visit May Be Due to Upcoming Military Operation in Iraq: Media

The postponement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's planned visit to the United States in May may be linked to disagreements over an upcoming Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, reports the T24 newspaper.

Earlier, Reuters cited a Turkish source stating that Erdogan's visit to the US, originally scheduled for May 9, has been delayed.

"It is possible that Turkey has been unable to reach a consensus with the US, especially regarding operations in Iraq and the future of Iraq. There is a significant possibility that US troops will withdraw from the country... There may also be security-related counter-demands from the US that Ankara finds unacceptable," the publication states.

The newspaper also draws attention to what it describes as Washington's "unfounded economic expectations" from Ankara. According to the publication, during the first year of the Ukrainian conflict, the US frequently complained that Russia was attempting to circumvent Western sanctions through Turkey, but now the US and even the EU do not express their grievances as before.

"Turkey expects reciprocal gestures, such as the cancellation of US tariffs on iron and steel products. Although such decisions have also been made for other countries, for Turkey, the rate still remains at 25%," the article notes.

Previously, Turkey announced that its armed forces would conduct a comprehensive ground operation against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during the summer. The Turkish side also aims to create a security corridor 30-40 kilometers deep in Syria.