Turkish FM to skip meet with Pompeo, officials reportedly want formal visit: Report

Turkey had taken offence to Pompeo's plan to promote "religious freedom"

Mike-Pompeo-Mevlut-Cavusoglu-Reuters-Twitter Collage: Us Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu | Reuters, Twitter

For years, US Secretary State Mike Pompeo has avoided paying a formal bilateral visit to Istanbul. Now, with less than three months for a new administration to take over, Pompeo will be including Turkey in his 7-nation tour between November 13-23—but Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will not be meeting him.

According to a report by Middle East Eye, Turkish officials have said the FM will not meet the US Secretary of State unless he makes a formal visit to Ankara, instead of the hasty one he is currently shoehorning into his schedule.

The move comes as Ankara took offence at the US statement that Pompeo would promote “religious freedom” during his visit, in a seeming reference to the recent conversion of the Hagia Sophia to a mosque.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry rebuked the statement “as extremely inappropriate,” insisting that the country protects the rights of citizens of various faiths to freely practice their religions.

“It would be more advisable for the United States to look in the mirror first and to show the necessary sensitivity to human rights violations such as racism, Islamophobia and hate crimes in its own country,” the Turkish ministry said in a statement.

“Our reaction on this matter was conveyed to the U.S. side, and it was suggested that (Washington) focus on increasing cooperation between our countries on regional and global issues,” the Foreign Ministry said.

US relations with Turkey have had a rough stretch during the Trump administration: Trump stopped short of condemning Saudi Arabia for its role in killing Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. In addition, Turkey’s decision to move ahead with its acquisition of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia led to the US ejecting Turkey from the F-35 program. However, the nail in the coffin was the US Congress’s official recognition of the Armenian Genocide—which Turkey has long claimed was not a genocide—in 2019.

Turkey’s role in the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict has also been criticised by some US lawmakers, with Pompeo accusing Turkey of increasing the risk and the firepower taking place in the fight by backing Azerbaijan. While Russia is perceived as Armenia’s ally, the US also has a sizeable Armenian population.

Pompeo will kick off his November 13 to 23 travel from Paris where he will meet his French counterpart and President Emmanuel Macron of France to build on their transatlantic work on economic and security matters, and on counterterrorism and global threats.

Following Paris, Pompeo will travel to Istanbul, Turkey to meet with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, to discuss religious issues in Turkey and the region and to promote strong stance on religious freedom around the world.

Pompeo's last stop in Europe will be Tbilisi, Georgia to meet with the country's president, prime minister, and Foreign Minister Zalkaliani, to express his support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, to urge further progress in democratic reforms.

He will also meet with the Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Ilia II, said Cale Brown, Principal Deputy Secretary.

The Secretary will then travel to Israel where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the Abraham Accords, and joint efforts to address Iran's malign activities.

Next, he will travel to the United Arab Emirates and meet with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayd to discuss security cooperation and regional issues. He will also travel to Qatar to meet with Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including the importance of Gulf unity, a media release said.

Pompeo's final stop will be in Saudi Arabia, where he will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

With inputs from agencies

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