Explosions in Brussels

[David Guyatt]

Obama refused a request for a meeting from Erdogan yesterday, I think. Interesting.

Yes, you're right. There was a WSJ report about it, but the story is behind a pay wall. Another report below

It is interesting, I agree. But will things dramatically change again when Obama leaves office? I suspect so.

16:53 28/03/2016 WORLD

The Wall Street Journal: Obama refused one-on-one meeting with Erdogan

Mr. Erdogan can expect a very cool reception when he visits the United States this week for the Nuclear Security Summit, the Wall Street Journal writes saying Mr. Obama has turned down Mr. Erdogan's request to join him for the inauguration of a Turkish-funded mosque in Maryland.

The paper quotes U.S. unnamed officials as saying the U.S. president has no plans for a formal one-on-one meeting with his Turkish counterpart. The White House is instead expected to have Vice President Joe Biden meet with Mr. Erdogan.
However, senior U.S. administration officials said the decision not to meet Mr. Erdogan while he is in Washington shouldn't be taken as a slight because the two presidents met in November at the Group of 20 summit in Turkey, and spoke by phone in February.

The paper suggests that Mr. Erdogan has alienated some allies by overseeing a crackdown on domestic critics and waging a new fight with Kurdish insurgents.

The allies' need to work with the Turkish president has tempered their public criticism. "This is one of the least bright spots for Mr. Erdogan's foreign-policy agenda, said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "He took a stellar personal relationship with the U.S. president and look where it is today."