Erdogan Undecided on Trump Meeting as Sanctions Threat Returns

(Bloomberg) -- With the threat of U.S. sanctions making an unwelcome reappearance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s questioning his travel plans.

A day after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that could penalize Turkey for its military offensive in northern Syria, Erdogan was noncommittal when asked if he’ll still travel for talks with President Donald Trump on Nov. 13.

“I haven’t decided yet, but there’s a question mark,” he said Wednesday. That’s a shift from last week when Erdogan vowed to “comply with the invitation” from Trump.

It was Trump’s U-turn on American involvement in Syria after a phone call with Erdogan that gave the green light for this month’s Turkish offensive against a U.S.-backed Kurdish foe.

But Congress has pledged to punish Turkey if it goes too far, and the House passed a series of bills on Tuesday, including one that recognized as genocide the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks more than a century ago. That’s an incendiary assessment for Turkish leaders.

Despite the shadow cast by possible sanctions, Erdogan has plenty of reasons to fly to Washington. Among other issues, the NATO allies are trying to iron out differences over Turkey’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system that triggered its suspension from the F-35 fighter jet program.

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“If the U.S. insists on steps that put our political friendship in question along with our alliance, that will harm it the most,” Erdogan said. “I hope they return from this mistake as soon as possible.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net;Firat Kozok in Ankara at fkozok@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams, Paul Abelsky

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