President Erdogan had been scheduled to visit President Biden in the White House on May 9, according to multiple sources. However, news organizations recently reported that the visit has now been postponed to an unspecified future date. The schedule move has prompted many to speculate on whether US-Turkey relationship is becoming even more problematic than before.

The move comes after President Erdogan met with the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, stating after the meeting that Hamas were “brothers” to Ankara and indicating that Turkey will not join those who label Hamas a terror organization.

The US-Turkey relationship has also been strained over Turkey’s aggression toward US partner forces in North and East Syria, where Turkey continuously sends weaponized drones and uses its air force to drop bombs, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure. In 2022, Turkish bombs fell within 300 meters of US forces stationed in the region, prompting a DOD spokesperson to state that Turkish attacks “directly threatened the safety of US personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than 10,000 ISIS detainees.” In 2023, US forces gunned down a Turkish drone that flew too close to the US base in North and East Syria, prompting an angry response from the Turkish government.

“The postponement is a pretty big deal, since Erdogan has been trying – for three years now – to get invited to the White House to meet US President Biden,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Program at The Washington Institute, speaking to Agence France-Presse.

So far, no official reason has been given for the cancellation. “A new date will soon be set due to a change in Erdogan’s schedule,” said Reuters, according to a Turkish source speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The last state visit that occurred was President Erdogan’s visit with President Trump in 2019.

Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish diplomatic officials in 2017.